Passengers stuck in Albay as Masbate bars unvaccinated travelers

RODEO COUNTRY: Travel and health restrictions during the pandemic have stopped all tourism-related activities in Masbate, which used to draw visitors for the annual Rodeo Masbateño showcasing the province’s cattle industry and its “cowboys.” The island has shut its borders to unvaccinated travelers recently in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. —GEORGE GIO BRONDIAL

LIGAO CITY, Albay, Philippines — At least 257 passengers bound for the island province of Masbate have been stuck at a port in Pio Duran, Albay, after the provincial government stopped the entry of people who have yet to complete their COVID-19 vaccinations.

“These stranded passengers came from Metro Manila and they were not allowed to sail because of Executive Order No. 26 released by the [Masbate] provincial government, noting that it will not accept those who are not fully vaccinated,” Noel Ordoña, Pio Duran municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer, told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Ordoña said most of the passengers were forced to stay at the port and needed assistance as they were running out of money to buy food and other essentials.

The local government of Pio Duran, he said, has been providing stranded passengers food and water in the past few days. He said local officials were also coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office of Civil Defense for assistance.

Proof

Ordoña said the passengers, among them children and the elderly, have been stranded in Pio Duran for five days. “Some of them are using their cars as shelter but most of them are staying and crowding at the port,” he said.

EO 26, issued by Masbate Gov. Antonio Kho on Aug. 18, states that no one is allowed entry into the province through its ports unless they present proof of “full vaccination at least 15 days before the said entry.”

However, the order notes that exceptions may be given to truck drivers and helpers transporting cargo who have secured prior coordination with the local government unit of their destination and the Masbate provincial disaster risk reduction and management office.

The Department of Health’s Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) in Bicol said Masbate’s EO and the plight of stranded passengers had been raised to the National Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC) to guide local officials.

But according to Dr. Rita Mae Ang-Bon, the DOH-CHD COVID vaccination spokesperson, said Republic Act No. 11525 (COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021) and its implementing rules and regulations, provide that “vaccine cards shall not be considered as an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment and other similar government transaction purposes.”

“Individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 as indicated in the vaccine card shall not be considered immune from COVID-19, unless otherwise declared by the DOH based on reliable scientific evidence and consensus,” the law states.

DILG review

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it would need to “closely review” the EO and would conduct a dialogue with the Masbate government.

“But if its purpose is to bar entry of unvaccinated persons to Masbate, it might be problematic. Generally, it could be viewed as discriminatory,” Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, the DILG spokesperson, said in a text message on Wednesday.

Malaya said the EO could violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution. “We cannot allow discriminatory treatment if there is no valid and reasonable distinction,” he added.

In July, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, through Resolution No. 124-B, allowed the presentation of COVID-19 vaccination cards as an alternative to a negative swab test for interzonal travel of fully vaccinated persons.

Local governments, however, retain the discretion to require a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR ) test for travelers.

Cases rising

The Inquirer had tried several times to reach Kho, through provincial administrator Rino Revalo and through telephone, to clarify the EO but calls went unanswered.

Sought for comments on Masbate’s travel requirement, Rep. Elisa Olga Kho, in a text message on Wednesday, said: “We have almost a thousand active cases and the hospital system is already overwhelmed and cannot accept additional cases. Some were brought to Sorsogon and died there.”

As of Aug. 24, Masbate recorded 899 active cases of COVID-19. The province logged a total of 2,459 cases since the pandemic struck in March last year. The province also listed 1,499 recoveries and 59 deaths.

Ordoña said the local government was worried as the town might see a surge in infections because most of the stranded passengers were unvaccinated and did not undergo COVID-19 tests.

“We are actually on heightened alert and we always remind the stranded passengers to observe minimum health protocols,” he said. —WITH A REPORT FROM DEXTER CABALZA