Davao Oriental’s “Oplan Sundo: NLD Cares”, the province’s initiative aiming to rescue stranded persons outside the province’s border, particularly those stuck in Davao City, is set to commence on Friday, May 1, 2020.

Governor Nelson Dayanghirang recently announced that for the next two weeks, the Provincial Government will deploy six buses to ferry Davao Oriental residents who are stranded in Davao City back to the province.

Prioritization

The first batch of passengers to be ferried on Friday are stranded students. Aside from them, the province will also give priority to employees who have lost their jobs and have no means to earn income, Overseas Filipino Workers, and other vulnerable groups – all of whom will be catered in the succeeding days.

Since Sunday, as the Provincial Government first announced the initiative, the list of individuals signifying their interest to avail has already reached to over 700. However, the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 made it clear that a filtering system was established in order to cater only to those individuals who are in great need of the service and are bona fide residents of the province. Verification and validation are done by the Provincial Incident Management Team together with its counterparts at the Local Government Units.

“Not everyone who has manifested an intent to go home will be catered,” said Dr. Reden Bersaldo, Incident Commander and Action Officer of the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19. “We appeal for everyone’s understanding, especially those who will not be able to avail,” he said, saying that the province has to make way for those individuals who are in desperate need. “We have to make priorities because if we don’t, we will end up overwhelming our limited resources and manpower,” he said.

Mechanics

The Oplan Sundo which will operate three times a week for the next two weeks is set to cater to about 700-800 individuals. Each bus will only accommodate 25 persons including the driver, security personnel, the medical, and support staff who will accompany the passengers. The doctor and nurse on board will check for the passenger’s respiratory symptoms while the security personnel will ensure the safety of the passengers and ensure that physical distancing is properly observed. Those who have symptoms will be transferred to a separate bus, he added.

Aside from the free bus ride, the passengers will also be provided with free meals during the trip.

Qualified residents who are set to avail of the service will receive confirmation coming from the province and will be given instructions as to the schedule and designated pick-up points. Passengers will be grouped according to their area of destination and will be asked to sign an agreement form signifying that they are willing to be subjected to quarantine upon their arrival.

The province made it clear that the passengers will be dropped off at their respective city or municipality’s designated quarantine center wherein they will be housed and isolated for the next fourteen days. Passengers are reminded to bring clothing and other personal belongings which they can use for fourteen days of quarantine as they will not be allowed to go home. The family members of the passengers are also not allowed to meet or visit during the whole duration of the quarantine period.

Aside from the facility, the Local Government Units are set to provide the food requirement of the passengers.

Meanwhile, aside from the mandatory quarantine, all COVID suspects will automatically undergo swab testing. Those who will test negative will immediately be advised to go home. The rest will be considered as Persons Under Monitoring and be subjected to the 14-day quarantine unless subjected to the swab test with negative results.

“If there are excess swab test kits in the LGU, non-COVID suspects may be tested. Test results usually arrive after 3-5 days and if they tested negative, they can go home immediately but still be subjected for monitoring,” said Dr. Bersaldo.

Amidst the stiff requirements, the provincial government implores the people’s consideration and understanding.

“Our province implemented this initiative as an act of kindness and compassion in this time of crisis. However, the safety of everyone is our utmost priority. We have to make sure that those we ferry from Davao City to our province are not carriers of the virus. We cannot afford to let our guards down,” said Dr. Bersaldo. (PIO-kld)