800 LSIs leave for Caraga, 800 more to leave for Zamboanga

A total of 800 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) on Wednesday left the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila for Caraga amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to Emil Sumangil’s report on “24 Oras,” the LSIs began boarding the ship at the Manila North Port Terminal at 5 p.m. The ship was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m.

Meanwhile, 800 more LSIs bound for Zamboanga are scheduled to leave at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Hatid Tulong program lead convenor Joseph Encabo said this is the last batch of registered LSIs to be returned to their provinces under the program.

“Sa mga huling araw at oras ng aming pag-process ng mga LSIs ay wala na rin po dumadagsa na magbabakasakaling may byahe pa po sa ibang rehiyon,” Encabo said.

The stadium will be locked down after the send-off for disinfection and cleaning procedures as trash riddled the seats and corners of the stadium.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno called for a better system in the acceptance and sending off of LSIs.

“The principle is noble. The idea is good. Pero kapag mayroong glitches, immediately we have to bounce back. What happened the other day- alam mo ngayon, truck truck na ‘yung basura,” Moreno said.

The Hatid Tulong Project vowed to create a more systematic approach for the third phase of the program, which they planned to open in the last week of August or the first week of September.

Meanwhile, the provinces of Biliran, Davao de Oro, Negros Oriental, Cebu, and Ilocos are currently not accepting LSIs. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News