8 Kalinga folks stranded in Manila brought home

Resumption of bus trips mulled 

By Peter A. Balocnit

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga -- Eight locally stranded individuals arrived home in Kalinga Tuesday through the Hatid Tulong program of government.

From the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila where the LSISs were assembled, the Kalinga folks with other LSIs from Cordillera and Cagayan Valley boarded  Partas buses to bring them to  their home provinces. 

Five LSIs composed of a  family were dropped  off at the Cagayan Sports       Coliseum at Tuguegarao City while  three  others  alighted  at Abbut, Quezon,   Isabela where they were fetched  by  vehicles of the provincial local   government unit and  brought them to their hometown in Pinukpuk.

The Jarabejo‘s with their three children arrived with their whole household     wares after deciding to leave Dasmariñas, Cavite where they resided for six   years.   

 Loida Jarabelo is an elementary teacher at a private school but since the no-   work no-pay rule in the private employment applies, she resigned. Raul is a   construction worker whose job was affected by the lockdown due to Covid-19.

She expressed her family’s gratitude to government for safely bringing   them home.  

She related that they applied for the Hatid Tulong in May and   were just accommodated this July because of the tedious processing of   requirements.

                Loida said she plans to engage in micro entrepreneurship if she finds capital.

Meanwhile, Klimer Baluyan, Reden Madayag and Ismael Allon were   applying in the Armed Forces of the Philippines when they were locked down   in Taguig City.

They learned about the program through a friend.

 “We have no food, no more money. Everything was exhausted during the   quarantine period. We are lucky to be included in the Hatid Tulong program,”   said Baluyan.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development- SWAD     gave each of the LSIs food packs and hygiene kit.

The 8 LSIs who arrived today are the second batch of stranded individuals brought home to Kalinga under the Hatid Tulong Program.

In Manila, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government is studying calls to lift the provincial bus ban to ease the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on drivers and operators.

Nograles said July 26 that provincial bus operations can only be allowed to resume if a system to determine that all would-be passengers are COVID-free is put in place.

Guarding against the further spread of Covid-19 is the reason why the Department of Transportation has undertaken “calibrated approach” in slowly providing more transportation options.

“Transportation) Secretary (Arthur) Tugade is still monitoring how we can assure that those returning to their provinces are safe from Covid),” Nograles said.

Local government units will play a big role in the decision to allow the resumption of the operation of provincial buses.

“Of course, they are also be making sure that there is no increase of Covid cases there,” he said. --PIA Kalinga