MANILA, Philippines — Forty-five Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) students from North Luzon, who were stranded in Boracay while on their on-the-job training (OJT) during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), were flown back to Manila, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said Saturday.
In a statement, CHEd said that out of the 64 students who were stranded, only 45 were able to return to Manila via sweeper flights organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Out of the 45 students, 28 were from the Nueva Ecija University of Science & Technology, seven from Lorma Colleges in La Union, six from the Nueva Vizcaya State University, and four from the Benguet State University.
“Transporting the stranded students from Manila to their respective provinces are handled by their respective higher education institutions (HEIs),” Ched said.
The seven students from Lorma Colleges, La Union will be quarantined in a hotel in San Fernando, La Union, and will be monitored by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
Meanwhile, the four students from Benguet State University will be quarantined at their university’s guest house, CHEd said.
“The rest of the students will be directly brought home for the needed 14-day mandatory quarantine,” the Commission added.
The remaining students who were left behind in Boracay, particularly five from Saint Joseph College of Maasin, Leyte; three from the University of Mindanao; seven from Colegio de Kidapawan and; four from STI College Cotabato, are awaiting available sweeper flights.
“The Commission thanks the efforts of Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and their Field Office in Boracay for the timely sweeper flight and the officials of the concerned HEIs and the CHED Regional Offices (CHEDROs)- I, II, III, CAR and VI for working together to help bring the students back to their families,” Ched chair Prospero De Vera III said.
“We are continuously monitoring the plight of stranded students all over the country and will assure their families that we will do everything to bring them home,” he added.
Some areas in the country, including Metro Manila, are still under ECQ due to rising cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.
As of Friday, there are now 8,772 cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, of which 1,084 have recovered while 579 succumbed to the viral disease.