BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday called for respect of the decision of the provincial government requiring Negros inbound passengers, including Bacolod City residents passing through the airport in Silay City, Negros Occidental, to have S-PaSS registration.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia had issued Executive Order No. 53 that allows travel into Bacolod City without the need for an S-PaSS since the local government is under Alert Level 2. However, Lacson retained the S-PaSS requirements for travelers passing through the airport
“They said there some sort of respect. I turn it around, why can’t they also respect the decision of the province,” Lacson said.
He also stressed that the provincial government never questioned the guidelines set by the city government for the BREDCO and Banago ports in Bacolod City, “because we respected that is their area.”
So, I hope they will also respect our decision with regards to the airport, Lacson said.
On the other hand, the Philippine Air Lines has issued an advisory requiring all inbound passengers going to Bacolod City and Negros Occidental to have an approved S-PaSS.
PAL said that Bacolod City bound passengers should use the barangay address of the Bacolod-Silay Airport, with Silay City as the destination.
This will allow the province to approve the S-PaSS of the passenger going to Bacolod City, it added.
PAL, in its issued guide in Philippine Domestic Travel, also said that the province will be handling the verification of the documents at the arrival area of New Bacolod Silay International Airport and will deny entry of passengers without an approved S-PaSS.
Emergency Operations Center – Task Force Executive Director Em Legaspi-Ang, in her social media account, said she was informed that PAL is now requiring Bacolod residents to declare that they are Barangay Airport, Silay City residents, when applying for an S-PaSS.
Rather than ridding some of the inconvenience, they are instructing Bacolod residents to misdeclare personal information in an official government platform, Ang said.
How is this new policy going to help if people fill in a fake address? she asked.
Is this a joke, Ang further asked.*
