MANILA – The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Tuesday said it assisted about 100 passengers bound for Zamboanga who were stranded at the North Harbor Terminal 4 due to the “no vaccination, no ride” policy of the government.
In a Laging Handa briefing, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the passengers were barred Monday due to incomplete documentary requirements.
“Naayos po natin iyong kanilang kalagayan, subalit hindi na po sila pinasakay (We were able to help with their condition, but they were not allowed to board),” Santiago said.
Aside from being unvaccinated, he said some of those barred from boarding also failed to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test required by the local government unit (LGU) at their destination.
“Bagama’t mayroon na pong vaccination card, ang niri-require po ng LGU na ang mga dumadating po sa Zamboanga ay kailangan mayroong negative RT-PCR result (Even though they have a vaccination card, the LGU requires those headed for Zamboanga to have a negative RT-PCR result),” Santiago said.
The RT-PCR test, he said, is only required by some LGUs and must be presented before boarding a vessel.
“Siguraduhin lamang po natin na alam po natin iyong mga regulasyon po ng mga LGU na pupuntahan natin dahil may kaniya-kaniya pa rin po silang requirement (Let’s make sure that we know the regulations of the LGU we are headed to because they each have their own requirements),” Santiago said.
He said many underage passengers were also barred from boarding as most were either unvaccinated or were not allowed to leave their homes as part of the policies under Alert Level 3 in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Exempted from the policy, he said, are children accompanied by their parents or guardians and are headed to their home province, not for “vacation” or “luxury” travel.
“Sila po ay papayagan kasama po ang kanilang mga anak provided po sila ay may pruweba na sila ay pauwi po talaga sa kanilang mga kaniya-kaniyang residences sa mga probinsiya (They will be allowed with their children if they have proof they are going home to their residence in the province),” Santiago said.
He said the parents or guardians of these children must also be fully vaccinated.
On Monday, the Department of Transportation and its line agencies, including the PPA, began the enforcement of the “no vax, no ride” policy in NCR as part of the national government’s efforts to curb the transmission of Covid-19 in the region.
The policy will remain in effect while NCR is at Alert Level 3 until January 31. (PNA)
