Uniform rules on accepting domestic passengers pushed

Aines Librodo, GMCAC head for airline marketing, is encouraging local government units in Cebu to have uniform guidelines on requirements for arriving domestic travelers. | Contributed photo courtesy of Bernie Valenzona

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — The GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) is encouraging local government units (LGUs) in Cebu to have uniform guidelines on accepting domestic passengers.

According to Aines Librodo, GMCAC head for airline marketing, said that this was to avoid confusion and discouragement of domestic passengers, especially tourists.

She said that the different guidelines implemented by different LGUs in the province had resulted in confusion to passengers, which would discourage them to pursue their plan in visiting Cebu.

“Unfortunately, the entry requirement of Lapu-Lapu City, the entry requirement of Cebu City, Mandaue City and Cebu Province, iba-iba. There are some similarities but there are also differences. So, the downside is nako-confuse yung pasahero natin (our passengers are confused),” Librodo said.

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Aside from this, people outside Cebu are also associating the province to Cebu City alone, which has more stringent entry requirements and with more active cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Not knowing that Lapu-Lapu City is a different entity, Mandaue is different, Cebu Province is different,” she added.

Cindi Chan, chairperson of the City Tourism Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission, also said that she understood the sentiments of GMCAC and non-Cebu residents.

In line with this, Chan said that she planned to have a meeting with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and local chief executives in the province, together with Cebu City and Mandaue City, to streamline the guidelines for domestic passengers who would arrive at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

“We try to meet up, madayon tong meeting nga plan nato with governor, to meet with other LGUs, para ma-streamline na bitaw ang requirements sa arrival of or acceptance of domestic travelers,” Chan said.

(We try to meet up. Our plan to meet with the governor, other LGUs so that we can have the requirements on the arrival or acceptance of domestic travelers.)

But as of the moment, Chan said that they had no schedule yet on this meeting./dbs