FINAL TEST
A locally stranded individual (LSI) wearing a face mask talks to a health worker in a hazmat suit before undergoing a rapid test for the coronavirus disease 2019 and being allowed to board a bus that would bring him to his home province. He was one of hundreds of LSIs who took part in the Hatid Tulong sendoff at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on July 4, 2020.
SEN.Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Saturday reiterated not only the need to assist locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to return to their respective provinces but also emphasized the enforcement of stringent health protocols, saying the welfare of every Filipino is of paramount importance.
Go’s reminder comes as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police ( PNP) kicked off the Hatid Tulong Program to help about 10,000 LSIs in Metro Manila return to their provinces.
A send-off ceremony was held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Saturday after the LSIs’ papers were processed through a one-stop shop manned by police.
Help desks were installed for the issuance of travel authorities to qualified individuals.
“We are prepared to give security to the returning LSIs with proper coordination with their receiving local government units,” PNP chief Archie Francisco Gamboa said in a statement.
The Hatid Tulong Program will initially provide 100 buses, three ships, a plane and a train to help the LSIs get to their destinations, said DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, concurrent spokesman.
Go stressed that health protocols must be put in place in transporting the LSIs to ensure that they would be in good health when they arrive in their respective provinces.
Since Hatid Tulong was a directive from President Rodrigo Duterte, he said it was important to make sure that proper health and safety protocols were in place to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Proper coordination must also be conducted to make sure that receiving LGUs are willing and ready to accept their constituents, Go added.
He clarified that the Hatid Tulong initiative of the government was different from the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag- asa ( BP2) Program and assured that BP2 would resume once the current pandemic has been contained.