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| Photo courtesy of Philstar |
Vice President Leni Robredo aired dismay and frustrated Saturday (July 25) over pictures of thousands of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) who have gathered at the Rizal Stadium in Manila.
“Are these pictures real? If they are, shame on us,” Robredo said in a Facebook post.
According to authorities, the travelers in photos which have gone viral on social media were those who had been temporarily sheltered at Philippine Army Gymnasium of the Villamor Air Base Elementary School and Manila Science High School who are bound for the provinces.
They are LSIs that are set to travel to their hometowns after undergoing rapid test for COVID-19 provided by different government agencies.
Robredo offered six suggestions to efficiently manage the send off of the LSIs to their respective provices as part of the government’s “Hatid Tulong” program.
These include scheduling the trips of the locally stranded individuals (LSIs) by province or region.
“If there was pre registration, alam na dapat kung anong araw lang sila dapat pumunta for their tests and trips. Again, by batches sana. Huwag sabay sabay,” Robredo added.
The Vice Preident said that if an unregistered traveler arrives at the designated send off area, he or she should be directed to go to another place.
The LSIs should also be tested in the facilities where they are housed and not at the waiting area for their vehicles to prevent congestion, she added.
Robredo then said rapid testing should also not be done for the LSIs.
“We should have learned our lessons by now. Hindi siya reliable. Maraming dumating sa Bicol by PNR, allegedly, after undergoing rapid testing. Pag dating doon, they tested positive. Dapat sana swab testing na gawin para mas mataas ang accuracy,” she said.
She added that the national government should also coordinate with local government units about the influx of LSIs.
“Hindi puwede fyi lang. Dapat tanungin capacity nila to take in so much number of LSIs. Hindi natin puwede ipasa responsibility sa kanila kasi hindi pareho pareho yung capacities ng bawat LGU,” she added.
Robredo said that while she supports hthe send off program of LSIs to their hometowns, the procedures must be done right to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Read Vice President Robredo's full post below:
Are these pictures real? If they are, shame on us.
There has to be a better, more organized way of doing this without compromising the health and safety of our people.
Suggestions lang po, kung mamarapatin:
1. Dapat naka schedule sana by province or region yung buses. Huwag pagsabay sabayin;
2. If there was pre registration, alam na dapat kung anong araw lang sila dapat pumunta for their tests and trips. Again, by batches sana. Huwag sabay sabay.
3. Kung may pupuntang hindi registered, designate another place for this and ensure social distancing. Huwag sana sa parehong lugar;
4. Ang sabi, dati silang housed in different facilities. Bakit hindi na dun gawin yung testing? Para sana mas organized. Pag dinala sila sa designated na lugar, para sana mag board nalang ng bus. Wala nang waiting time. Again, para ma control na yung lugar at walang maghawaan.
5. Ang sabi, irarapid test sila. We should have learned our lessons by now. Hindi siya reliable. Maraming dumating sa Bicol by PNR, allegedly, after undergoing rapid testing. Pag dating doon, they tested positive. Dapat sana swab testing na gawin para mas mataas ang accuracy. Sumulat na kami kay Secretary Galvez tungkol dito. last week pa.
In fact, we reiterated this request in our letter to PMS. Pinadala namin sa kanila list of LSIs who contacted us para ma register din sa libreng sakay.
6. Sana kabahagi ng protocols yung readiness ng LGU to take them in. Hindi puwede fyi lang. Dapat tanungin capacity nila to take in so much number of LSIs. Hindi natin puwede ipasa responsibility sa kanila kasi hindi pare pareho yung capacities ng bawat LGU.
I am all for helping locally stranded passengers get home to their destinations. But let us do it right please.
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