The Task Force Davao has intercepted 116 Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs), who tried to use a different airport or traveled by land to return to Mindanao to bypass the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) requirement from July 20 up to 26.
Task Force Davao Commander, Colonel Consolito Yecla, said that 16 of the intercepted LSIs used the Laguidingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro City to enter Davao City while 100 others took the land trip.
He said the bulk of the intercepted LSIs came in between Friday and Sunday.
Yecla said that 52 of the LSIs were residents of Davao City while the remaining 64 were passing by to their provinces. Those passing by were escorted to the borders with other provinces.
âThose who are not residents of the city were escorted to our exit point to ensure that they will not stop along the way,â he said.
âThey were not apprehended, they were just held temporarily (so we can) assist them to have an RT-PCR to protect them and their families are assured that they do not carry the virus,â Yecla added.
Yecla said the TF Davao told the intercepted LSIs that there are protocols to be followed and that what they experienced âshould not be viewed as a hassle or an arrest because it was for their protection, as well as of their families.â
Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte had ordered that LSIs entering the city through the Davao International Airport (DIA) need to present a negative RT PCR taken 24 to 48 hours before departure. It was later amended and LSIs coming through the DIA only needed to undergo a test upon exit.
A negative result is needed before they can proceed to their places of residence. CIO
