The head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and member of the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF), Dr. Anthony Damalerio categorically declares that the five (5) employees of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) who entered Bohol without letters of acceptance from a local government unit (LGU) are considered as authorized persons outside residence (APOR).
This is in contrast to the pronouncement of Alburquerque mayor Don Ritchie Buates who said that the said employees are considered as locally stranded individuals (LSI), since the personnel entered Bohol without the necessary negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result, which is required for an APOR prior to entry into the province.
Damalerio made the statement during a radio interview on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, over Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa program hosted by the sister tandem Ardy Araneta – Batoy and Gloria Leodivica Ines Araneta aired over dyTR-AM.
Damalerio said in the interview that the employees who arrived here without letters of acceptance, applied as APOR.
“In this case, kaning lima, they applied as APOR,” the PDRRMO chief said in the interview.
Batoy asked Damalerio why Buates treated the personnel as LSI when they are really APOR according to the definition of the word established in recent publications. Damalerio replied that since the personnel are already here, in order for Buates to issue letters of acceptance, there is a need to tag the personnel as LSI and not APOR.
“APOR man gyud sila (PPA personnel),” Damalerio declared during the radio interview.
As this developed, Damalerio said he will be securing the full report coming from Buates regarding the latter’s decision to accept the PPA employees even he and the mayor already talked with each other personally prior to Thursday’s radio interview.
Batoy asked Damalerio if there would be sanctions against the Albur mayor for tagging the personnel who are really APOR as LSI. Damalerio answered by saying that the any action of the BIATF will depend on the written report coming from Buates.
Damalerio assured the anchorpersons and the radio listeners that every action will be based on the protocols and guidelines imposed by the BIATF.
“Once we get the black and white report from LGU Albur, we will make the corresponding action,” Damalerio assured the interviewer.
Moreover, Damalerio asked why the Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu allowed the personnel to board the voyage to Bohol with incomplete documents.
Supposedly, a ticket should not be issued to any passenger who lacks a letter of acceptance from the receiving LGU, Damalario added.
For her part, City Administrator Cathelyn Torremocha said that the PPA personnel were transferred from Albur yesterday morning, Jan. 9, 2021 to a quarantine facility in the city.
BACKGROUND
The issue stems from the entry of the five (5) PPA personnel who are working in the port of Tagbilaran and who arrived in the city allegedly without letters of acceptance coming from any LGU, reports say.
Acting port police Chief Insp. Greg de la Cruz confirmed with The Bohol Tribune that the 5 PPA personnel arrived in Tagbilaran, from Cebu, about 3:30 am, on Monday, Jan. 4, 2020, without letters of acceptance.
Any person arriving from outside Bohol, including APOR, needs to secure a letter of acceptance from the receiving LGU. A person who arrives in Bohol from outside of the province needs to be placed under quarantine in a quarantine facility, based on the arrival protocols implemented here.
He said the personnel were able to secure Covid shield certification and this is the reason they were allowed to embark on a voyage to Tagbilaran from Cebu.
The port police chief said the personnel went to their respective quarters inside the port area after their arrival.
De la Cruz, upon learning of the personnel’s arrival, asked for their respective letters of acceptance. The personnel were unable to show any.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 over Open Forum, port police chief de la Cruz said that the PPA personnel were able to secure letters of acceptance from LGU Alburquerque.
MAYOR’S EXPLANATION
Buates explains his town government’s decision to accept the personnel of the PPA as LSI and placing them under quarantine in a private facility in the said town.
The mayor gave the explanation in a radio interview over dyTR’s Open Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
He explained that his administration issued a letter of acceptance to the personnel concerned out of consideration after he was asked by a PPA official to issue the letters of acceptance.
The mayor said that this PPA official is from Albur who lives in a barangay close to the barangay where the mayor lives. The mayor refused to identify the PPA official who asked the former to accept the personnel in Albur.
The mayor also said that his action is an offshoot of the BAYANIHAN, WE HEAL AS ONE. He also stressed that he was just helping the PPA employees who are supposed to be helped since they are government officials whose time to serve should not be delayed.
Buates agreed to accept the personnel to help the latter who are government employees.
The mayor also said during the interview that he is unsure whether or not the personnel are from Bohol. He only knows that the PPA employees arrived from Cebu.
Damalerio in another radio interview on Thursday, said the personnel are from Cebu and are not Boholanos.
Moreover, Buates insisted that the PPA employees who arrived from Cebu fall under the category of LSI and not APOR.
Based on definitions, an APOR is a government official or employee or a private business person or worker assigned to perform work or transact business in a pre-determined area in the province. Prior to arrival in Bohol, an APOR needs to secure a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior before arrival.
Meanwhile, an LSI is a returning Boholano resident returning home after getting stranded in another place. An LSI does not need to obtain a PCR test prior to arrival but needs to undergo a 14-day quarantine in a quarantine facility.
Both APOR and LSI need to secure a letter of acceptance prior their arrival, per protocol imposed by the executive orders of Gov. Arthur Yap.
GANTALAO’S SIDE
PPA Bohol port manager James Gantalao said he has crafted and submitted a report regarding the incident and it will be the central office that will decide on any sanctions that will be imposed if the personnel will be found to have violated any protocol.