LUNA, Apayao – The Hatid Tulong program of the national government sent home 33 i-Apayaos to their respective hometowns on July 27.
Geriahzon Sebastian of the Office of the Provincial Governor, focal person for LSIs in the province, said they are the second batch of LSIs sent back home to their respective municipalities through the Hatid Tulong program, the national government initiated program that sends back stranded residents in Metro Manila and nearby areas to their respective hometowns.
The LSIs were sent off from the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila night of July 26 together with other LSIs from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The 33 LSIs from Apayao were spread out in seven buses along with those from Region 2 and other Cordillera provinces. They were transported to the designated drop-off points at the Cagayan Sports Coliseum in Tuguegarao City and Barangay Quirino in Luna, Apayao.
They were picked up by their respective LGUs assisted by the Apayao Provincial Police Office through Provincial Director P/Col. Byron Tegui-in and were brought to the municipal isolation and quarantine facilities where they will be quarantined for 14 days before they will be allowed to join their families and communities.
The LSIs are composed of 11 from Luna, 10 from Conner, four from Flora, three from Santa Marcela, two each from Calanasan and Kabugao, and one from Pudtol.
Three LSIs who were earlier sent home to Apayao through the program arrived July 6.
The program is a short-term humanitarian effort to assist and bring to their respective provinces the LSIs, repatriated overseas Filipino workers, and other affected Filipinos in Metro Manila due to travel restrictions imposed during the quarantine period to combat the Covid-19. – Redjie M. Cawis
April 27, 2024
