By PIA –Bohol | 01:57 PM October 03, 2020
Oceanjet of Fast Ferries Corporation announces it is putting up a lone sweeper trip as it resumes its disrupted sailing schedule to Bohol-Dumaguete-Bohol-Cebu for returning and exiting Boholanos beginning October 8.
In a social media announcement, OceanJet announced the resumption of their trip starting October 8, 2020, but the service is only good for one boat serving the mentioned routes, once a day.
Oceanjet said their trip leaves Cebu to Bohol at 9:20, arrives in Bohol at 11:20, then leaves for Dumaguete at 12:10 and arrives in Dumaguete by 2:10 PM.
The same boat leaves Dumaguete to Tagbilaran City by 2:30 PM, arrives by 4:30 and leaves back to Cebu by 5:00 PM.
With this, OceanJet has advised their new normal boarding guidelines which include no facemask and face shield, no boarding policy. The face mask shall be worn at all times while onboard.
Checking in of tickets would be at least an hour before departure.
Thermal scanning would also be implemented before boarding the vessels, while strict social distancing in the queues would be observed.
Onboard, the ferry management strictly implements no transferring or exchanging seats.
The management also assures the availability of alcohol or sanitizers, all their hand rails and passenger seats properly disinfected before and after embarkation.
The OceanJet announcement came on the same day Bohol Capitol issued Executive Order No 48., which extended the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in Bohol until the end of November and allows only sweeper flights [or trips] catering to returning and exiting Overseas Filipino Workers, locally stranded individuals (LSI) and Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR).
According to the EO 49, the above named persons can only be allowed to board provided that they have properly coordinated with their receiving LGUs so that supervised mandatory quarantine and testing protocols can be implemented as a new normal.
On the case of the OceanJet, ferry management said all APORs, LSI and OFWs should have complete travel documents as required by their receiving LGUs, these documents including a personal identification card shall be necessary in purchasing for the ferry ticket.
In a radio interview, Fast Ferries Corporation spokesperson Jimmy Lastimado confirmed the big news, as he stressed that the trip would still require passengers to have a travel authority and other documents which LGU have been asking to also assure their residents that the person coming in is free from any contagious disease especially the highly contagious corona virus disease.
As the OceanJet said passengers should have proper documents, Lastimado explained that these varies, as some LGUs ask for more while some LGUs only ask what the IATF demands.
For LSI, APOR and OFWs homing to Bohol for example, the main requirements are proper and prior coordination of the returning individual with the local government unit as certified by the LGU, Barangay Clearance Certificate attesting that the person has no prior travel outside the host barangay and that the person has not been ill or is not exhibiting Covid symptoms.
This certification would be used to obtain the Medical Clearance Certificate, from the Municipal or City Health Officer of origin.
The Medical Clearance Certificate is also an important document as a basis for the Travel Authority which could be obtained from the local police.
Having all these, the traveling individual has to purchase the ticket, making sure he also has a personal identification card, and comes with a face mask and face shield as a requirement by the Department of transportation in riding public transportation.
In some areas, returning individuals need to sign an undertaking, which could allow the LGU to force the individual to a mandatory quarantine and detaining him in an isolation facility while on quarantine.
For Dumaguete, APORs have to present a company ID, Certificate of Employment, Medical clearance certificate and a travel order from company.
LSIs in transit to Dumaguete needs Medical Clearance certificate and Travel authority from the PNP/LGU
For returning oversea Filipino workers to Dumaguete, they have to present their Passports, a Medical clearance certificate and a Travel authority from PNP/LGU.
Dumaguete authorities however warned that additional requirements may be needed for certain areas, so it would be important to coordinate with the receiving LGU, before getting tickets.
This too as the Department of Interior and Local Government has discouraged LGUs from seeking a negative rapid antibody or Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test results until the returning individuals have arrived at the receiving LGU.
By this, the government spares the individual from shouldering the added cost, because mandatory 14 day quarantine is still needed upon his arrival. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)
