Talisay opens Bulacao border

CEBU, Philippines —  Talisay City’s border in Barangay Bulacao opens today and tomorrow, but only for authorized persons outside their residences (APOR).

Barangay Bulacao is the boundary between the cities of Cebu and Talisay.

Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. decided to open the Bulacao border as the viaduct at the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) is temporarily closed today until 1 p.m. tomorrow for repair.

The temporary closure is needed to facilitate Cebu– Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), the third bridge connecting mainland Cebu and Mactan Island, construction works.

With the closure, Gullas said traffic congestion is expected at CSCR border of Cebu City and Talisay City.

The mayor discussed the matter with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Police Regional Office Director Albert Ignatius Ferro, Inter-Agency Task Force Deputy Chief Implementer for the Visayas Melquiades Feliciano, and Talisay’s traffic head Joy Tumulak.

“We all agreed (that APOR may pass through the Bulacao border on Saturday and Sunday). Only for essential workers and not for leisure,” said Gullas.

The Bulacao border will be closed anew before midnight tomorrow.

“Come Monday balik ta sa one entrance one exit sa South Road Properties (SRP),” Gullas said.

For the past three months, the CSCR at SRP has been the only entry and exit point for southbound motorists.

Rerouting

To ease the traffic, the Cebu City government, in an advisory, will implement a rerouting scheme this weekend.

“Northbound motorists can take F. Vestil road, southbound motorists can take Osmeña boulevard,” the advisory read.

For those who will be going out for work and need to cross borders, they must present a certificate of employment and a company identification card.

For those who need to cross for medical reasons, they need to secure a medical pass from their respective local government units.

Although Cebu City’s quarantine status was already downgraded to less restrictive modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from enhanced community quarantine, entry from the other areas in Cebu province remains strict.

“Ang borders, same, strikto gihapon sa pagpasok. APOR ra gihapon ang makasud,” said Mayor Edgar Labella.

The city’s borders will remain closed to the public until its quarantine status will be of the same classification with that of its neighboring cities.

Labella’s spokesperson, lawyer Rey Gealon, in a media briefing online also said, checkpoints will remain to ensure that the mayor’s executive order will be properly followed.   KQD (FREEMAN)