Sec. Locsin begs: Let Germans through

CEBU, Philippines —  Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has begged for Cebu to allow Germans to enter the province so they can pass through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in going back to Germany.

"Cebu makes it hard for evacuees to enter its airport. On my knees, I beg Cebu, please," reads Locsin’s tweet posted around 10 a.m. yesterday.

The last batch of Germans from Palawan, Siargao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bohol, Caticlan, Surigao, Tacloban, Mindanao and Bacolod are scheduled to leave the Philippines via Manila and Cebu this weekend, Locsin explained.

In succeeding tweets, Locsin said he understands that the local government chiefs might have been "rubbed the wrong way" by the Interagency Task Force's Resolution.

He said he is mainly looking out for the tourism industry, all in the effort to dodge possible brunts from other countries.

"I am trying to spare the Philippine tourism from a justifiable retaliation in the future. I am also asking out local officials to put themselves in the shoes/ rubber slippers of foreign tourists stuck here for the duration- out in the open with their kids or price-gouged in hotels," Locsin tweeted.

His tweets came days after Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in one of her press conferences, called out MCIA General Manager Steve Dicdican for allowing foreigners from other parts of the country to enter the province using private planes without coordinating with the provincial government.

Garcia deplored the move because of an existing executive order she has issued that bans the entry of passengers from incoming domestic flights.

The foreigners were reportedly checked in at two hotels without following proper protocols and exposing the rest of the hotel staff to possible risks of COVID-19.

Yesterday, Garcia clarified that there is no need for Locsin to beg and all that is needed is for him to coordinate with the provincial government so that proper protocols may be laid down.

"He does not have to beg. Si Secretary Locsin gud na. All that we ask is please coordinate," Garcia said.

She said what the province restricts is the entry of passengers, not the actual flights.

"We have never stopped the airport operations in the matter of inbound and outbound flights," Garcia said

Passengers who enter through the airport, she added, can stay at the airport and take a flight exiting the country.

"So please, it's okay gyud. Please coordinate with us. Because as I said, like Atty. Steve Dicdican, I am not interfering with your authority in the airport but when you send out these people who arrived to the hotels, without coordinating, without the proper procedures, that's when I have to call you out," Garcia said.  JMO (FREEMAN)