Malasakit buses to ply last trip on Aug. 3
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Malasakit buses will already ply its last trip on Monday, August 3, 2020, now that Cebu City’s status has been downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ).
The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) made the announcement on Sunday, August 2.
The 10-to-15-unit fleet operated for four months, beginning last March 19, offered free rides to medical frontliners affected by the reduced capacity of public transport with the enforcement of social distancing in vehicles and the suspension of public utility vehicles (PUVs) operations during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the city.
Cebu City was under ECQ from March 28 until May 31. The city’s status was downgraded to GCQ from June 1 to 15, then back to ECQ from June 16 to July 15. It was downgraded to a modified ECQ from July 16 to 31 and is now back to GCQ starting Saturday, August 1.
OPAV announces that the Malasakit Buses will already be plying its last trip on Monday, August 3, 2020, in time with Cebu City’s downgrading to GCQ.
The Malasakit buses plied Cebu City streets from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
According to OPAV, the Malasakit buses boarded 80,000 healthcare workers throughout its operation.
“With the easing of quarantine restrictions, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 has allowed some public transportations to operate,” OPAV’s announcement said.
“The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) and the Cristina Lee Dino Foundation, who sponsored the free bus service, continuously salutes all healthcare workers, who have heroically continued to be the first line of defense against the pandemic,” it added.
Under Item K of the minimum health standards section of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella’s Executive Order No. 86, which sets the protocol for the city’s implementation of the GCQ, public transport is now allowed in the city in accordance with the guidelines set by the LTFRB such as reduced capacity and observance of 1-meter distancing among the passengers. / dcb
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