The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday ferried 12 foreigners of different nationalities from Negros Oriental to Cebu City where they would board a sweeper flight.
The foreigners were stranded after the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to prevent a community spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Dumaguete City Tourism Officer Jacqueline Veloso Antonio said the foreigners boarded the BRP Capones-MRRV 4404 vessel of the PCG at the port here on Wednesday night, after having gone through the proper protocols and documentation.
The 12 included five Spanish, four Koreans, two Germans and one Czech, said Lt. Senior Grade Donna Liza Duran-Ramacho, station commander of PCG-Dumaguete.
She said the vessel had earlier passed by Bohol and Siquijor to pick up other stranded foreigners before proceeding to Dumaguete. It left the port here at around 2 a.m.
This was the third Coast Guard repatriation trip in Dumaguete, as requested by the Department of Tourism in Region 7 (DOT-7), Ramacho said.
Officials and representatives of the PCG, Department of Foreign Affairs, DOT-7, Philippine Ports Authority, Department of Health-Integrated Provincial Health Office in Negros Oriental, the Dumaguete City Tourism Office and Negros Oriental Provincial Tourism Office, among others, were on hand to help facilitate the foreigners’ departure and boarding processes.
Capt. Agapito Bibat, commanding officer of the BRP Capones-MRRV 4404, said a total of 46 foreigners were picked up and brought to Cebu from Bohol, 22; Negros Oriental, 12; and Siquijor, 12.
Likewise, he said they picked up swab specimens for Covid-19 testing in Cebu City from Bohol and Siquijor.
Assisting Bibat in the embarkation and disembarkation process was the vessel’s executive officer, Lt. Alex Branzuela, who also aided in the delivery of personal protective equipment and medical supplies for Negros Oriental and other areas within their area of operations.
The foreign nationals were expected to depart on flights out of Cebu to their respective countries Thursday, Antonio said. (PNA)