No more quarantine for R9 bus travelers
PAGADIAN CITY: Bus passengers traveling to Zamboanga City from various Zamboanga Peninsula provinces are no longer required to undergo quarantine as long as they show a negative RT-PCR or swab for Covid-19 test result.
In addition, senior citizens and children will be allowed to commute as long as they have complete requirements.
Rafael Derrick Evangelista 3rd, head of the Zamboanga City Integrated Bus Terminal (IBT), said the bus passengers “do not have to undergo quarantine, but they have to inform their barangay (village) leaders where they would reside in Zamboanga City for monitoring purposes.”
He added that there will be no straight bus travel to and from Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and other cities outside Region 9.
According to Evangelista, no passengers will be picked up or dropped off by buses along the way and passengers can only have their toilet stop in Ipil, Zamboanga del Norte.
He said Zamboanga City bound commuters from other Zamboanga Peninsula provinces can only disembark at the Zamboanga IBT, not in any municipality in between.
Tickets must only be purchased at least two days only to passengers with complete requirements.
For locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) going to Zamboanga City, Evangelista said, “the basic requirements are medical certificate from their area of origin, travel authority from the Philippine National Police, coordination pass from the Zamboanga City Tourism Office and negative RTPCR test result, which is not required for infants. Authorized persons outside residence (Apors) will only need to present their medical certificate, travel order and their company identifications, he added.
Evangelista reminded passengers that the IBT ‘will strictly implement a ‘no face shield, no mask, no travel policy,’ saying arriving passengers in Zamboanga City found to have incomplete requirements will be allowed to pay for their own quarantine and swab test, or in some cases, be sent back to where they came from.