The city government here has welcomed the arrival of 10 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Cebu City after they were allowed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to disembark at the Fort San Pedro terminal on Monday.
A Cokaliong vessel from Cebu arrived in Iloilo on Sunday carrying 55 LSIs, including 10 from Iloilo City.
However, the passengers were not allowed to immediately disembark due to an advisory from the DILG suspending the movement of LSIs going to and from Cebu City effective June 20, 2020.
Cebu City is still under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Mayor Jerry Treñas said he would allow city residents to disembark when he was informed about the arrival on Sunday.
“They are already here and we want (to) also to help them out. They have long been in quarantine in Cebu,” he said.
The DILG released a resolution on Monday allowing them to disembark from the vessel, he added.
The 10 LSIs from the city were brought to the Jubilee Hall in Mabini Street for their rapid diagnostic test and swab test.
Those who have no separate rooms in their houses to observe home quarantine stayed at the Jubilee Hall to undergo facility quarantine.
“We can still afford to provide meals for all of them,” Treñas said.
Treñas added he will no longer file a complaint against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for allowing the Cokaliong vessel to bring in LSIs from Cebu amid the DILG order.
He said he will just leave the matter to the national headquarters to investigate.
“I think that has already gotten the attention of the national government and I think it will be incumbent upon the national government to investigate that matter,” he added. (PNA)