Zamboanga City

Zamboanga’s vast coastline a challenge in containing pandemic, smugglers

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Zamboanga’s vast coastline a challenge in containing pandemic, smugglers

An aerial view of Zamboanga City's vast and porous coastline.

Zamboanga City, located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula region, is open to the entry of vessels from the nearby island provinces of Basilan and Sulu

Army soldiers intercepted a boat from Jolo, Sulu, with 8 travelers without COVID-19 test results and 83 boxes of smuggled cigarettes in Zamboanga City, on Wednesday, June 30.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has ordered the strict monitoring of the city’s shorelines, but the incident showed that Zamboanga’s vast coastline is proving to be a major challenge to authorities in preventing the entry of health protocol violators, and even smugglers.

The incident, however, was not the first intrusion attempt into Zamboanga city’s boundaries this week.

A day before, authorities intercepted two vessels loaded with P5.6 million worth of smuggled cigarettes.

In April this year, the mayor ordered a manhunt for 17 travelers who slipped out of Zamboanga for Sulu province without undergoing quarantine. One earlier tested positive for COVID-19.

Zamboanga City, located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula region, is open to the entry of vessels from the nearby island provinces of Basilan and Sulu.

Residents from these areas visit family members in Zamboanga amid the strict implementation of entry protocols.

Not all, however, are subjected to required security and health procedures.

Zamboanga City has some 100 private wharves where boats can readily dock without going through security and coastal checks.

Village leaders frequently apprehend boatloads of passengers docking along the city’s shoreline. Those that are caught are ordered to return to their points of origin.

With a distance of 2,243 kilometers, Zamboanga City is the first major port in the Philippines from Sandakan, Malaysia.

Mayor Climaco has raised an alert last week against the possible entry and spread of the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.

As the country’s southern backdoor, Zamboanga faces challenges of guarding not only its own but the country’s borders against challenges posed by the pandemic. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!