By JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
Correspondent
HUNDREDS of passengers and motorists going to Bukidnon found themselves stuck in traffic hours before the provincial government placed the entire province under quarantine on Tuesday night.
The move was in line with the effort of the government to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to put Metro Manila on enhanced community quarantine.
As early as 8:00 am Tuesday, public and private vehicles were flagged down and passengers were told to alight and have their temperatures checked by medical personnel.
As of 3:00 pm, a long line of vehicles bound for Bukidnon can still be seen at the animal quarantine center in Barangay Alae, which was also being used as a checkpoint by a combined team of police, military, health officers, and barangay workers.
Lt. Col. Silvestre Asiong, Jr., Bukidnon provincial police spokesman, said buses were not allowed to proceed as part of their safety measure.
In an interview, Asiong said they are asking for an understanding of the riding public, especially those who were stranded at the checkpoint.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. We did it to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” he added.
Asiong also explained that there was no miscommunication between the office of Gov. Jose Maria Zubiri and the provincial police in the implementation of the province-wide quarantine.
Zubiri’s order was scheduled to take effect at 10 pm Tuesday, but Asiong said Col. Roel Lami-ing, the provincial police director, has already ordered the setting up of the checkpoint in the morning.
“It was [Lami-ing’s] initiative and guidance to implement the quarantine even before Gov. Zubiri’s order takes effect,” he said.
