VisMin bound cargo trucks ordered to return to MM

By Mar S. Arguelles

Some 150 trucks bound for the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) that were stranded along the Maharlika Highway in Bato town in Camarines Sur were ordered to return to their point of origin in Metro Manila on Saturday (Apr. 17) night, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Bicol said.

The trucks were not allowed to proceed to the Matnog Port in Sorsogon as a preventive measure to unclog the national highway there after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) enforced the “no sailing” policy, which suspended sea travel in all ports in Bicol due to Typhoon “Bising.”

Gremil Alexis Naz, OCD spokesperson, said the OCD approved the request of Camarines Sur Gov. Migz Villafuerte to authorize the provincial government to order the trucks to return to their points of origin as they were parked along the Maharlika Highway at the Camarines Sur-Albay border in Bato town.

Villafuerte in his request said the parked trucks are obstructing the flow of traffic in the area, which in case of an emergency situation may hamper urgent road clearing operations as a result of “Bising.”

As this developed, three of the drivers and helpers of the stranded cargo trucks tested positive for Covid-19 after the personnel of the provincial government subjected them to rapid antigen tests.