ROCK FORMATIONS. The rock formations in Marabut, Samar are among the destinations of a Tacloban-based cruise. The San Juanico Cruises, a local cruise operator in Tacloban, has again stopped its operation for a month after Tacloban City was placed under general community quarantine by the central government. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
TACLOBAN CITY – The San Juanico Cruises, a local cruise operator in Tacloban has again stopped its operation for a month after Tacloban City was placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) by the central government.
Rhoel Ladera, operator of San Juanico Cruises, said on Tuesday that suspending their operation is their way of helping the government check the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections in the city.
Ladera said they had to cancel all bookings as mandated under the GCQ, which restricts the movement of people in the city and suspends the operation of tourism-related facilities and activities to avoid mass gatherings.
Their operation was first suspended by about five months when the city was first placed under GCQ last March.
The cruise re-opened last July when Tacloban was placed under modified GCQ.
Tacloban had 426 confirmed Covid-19 cases as of August 31.
“We are fully booked for September but unfortunately we have to suspend our operation. We need to prioritize our health more than anything else,” Ladera said in a phone interview.
He said since they resumed their operation last July, convincing tourists to experience the local tour was very challenging.
Most of their tourists are from nearby towns of Tacloban City.
The San Juanico Cruises offer a tour along the Cancabato Bay, which features the iconic San Juanico Bridge, and visit some islets at the San Juanico Strait.
They also have the San Juanico Strait Cruise, Marabut Adventure Cruise, Marabut Cruise, and the Historical Cruise.
When they re-opened in July, they offered a new cruise itinerary, the Leyte Gulf Cruise that lasts for about 10 hours.
It starts early morning with jump-off area at the Balyuan wharf in Tacloban to the beach destinations and group of islets in Marabut town in Samar province.
The National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has placed the city under GCQ from September 1 to 30 in a resolution issued on August 31.
Tacloban was the only area in the Visayas placed under stricter movement.
Also under GCQ are the National Capital Region, Bulacan, and Batangas. (PNA)
