Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said they were unaware of the opening of the borders in Mabinay and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental.
Both Negros Occidental and Oriental provincial governments are not easing border controls despite the reported opening of borders in the municipalities of Vallehermoso and Mabinay to areas in the Occidental side.
Vallehermoso is the last town of Negros Oriental in the north and shares boundaries with San Carlos City in Negros Occidental.
Mabinay is situated in central Negros right beside Kabankalan City and is a shorter route to Bacolod City.
Lacson said he was informed that Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has issued an executive order imposing strict border controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We will keep it as it is right now,” the governor said, in reply to a question if Negros Occidental will open its border with Negros Oriental.
Earlier, Bimbo Miraflor, Negros Oriental provincial government information officer, said in a statement that the province “in general is not easing border control”.
He said that the decision of the local government units of Vallehermoso and Mabinay to open their borders still needs the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Region 7.
“As far as the provincial government is concerned, the executive order of Degamo is still in effect, and the easing of LGU border controls in Mabinay and Vallehermoso will not assure the traveling public of ease of entry into the province without securing the necessary documentary requirements for travel and following the minimum health protocols,” Miraflor said.
Negros Occidental provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the mayors of the towns and cities in the province are still concerned over the effect of the lifting of borders to the Oriental side.
Diaz said that “Negros Oriental is not threatened by us because we are successful in curbing the spread of COVID-19 but they still have many cases,” Diaz said.
Negros Occidental has 105 COVID cases as of Feb. 6, compared to 253 active infections in Negros Oriental as of Feb. 5.
(Dolly Yasa via The Daily Guardian (TDG), photo courtesy of TDG)