CEBU, May 21 (PIA) -- Over 10,000 foreign tourists stranded in various parts of Central Visayas were assisted by the government in bringing them home through sweeper flights, while 714 domestic tourists affected by the lockdown also availed of the sweeper flights to go back to their respective provinces.

Since March, a total of 59 sweeper flights were facilitated by the Department of Tourism in Region 7 (DOT-7) per request of the different embassies based in the country to help their citizens to return back to their homeland.

"We have hauled 10,104 foreign nationals back to their country through sweeper flights initiated by their respective embassies. The outbound flights included going to countries like Germany, France, Netherland, Scandinavia, US, and Vietnam," said DOT-7 Regional Director Shalimar Hofer Tamano.

Just the other day, stranded foreign nationals from Cambodia and Korea returned home through sweeper flights chartered by their respective embassies, said the DOT-7 director.

Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, also mounted 10 flights while the DOT-7 initiated two sweeper flights, according to Tamano.

"The months of March and April were the peak, as our phones kept ringing even in the wee hours of the morning," said Tamano, adding that it felt like "my mobile phone would not stop ringing all day and night."

Mary Ann Dimabayao, public affairs manager of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), shared Tamano's sentiment of having their hands full during the facilitation of the stranded tourists, transporting them during unholy hours when most people are asleep.

"Our collaboration with the DOT-7 is automatic. Once they call to request for transportation, we immediately prepare our bus to shuttle the stranded tourists to the airport for their flights," said Dimabayao.

Tamano and Dimabayao also acknowledged the significant assistance provided by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG-7), which was responsible for ferrying the stranded tourists from different islands to Cebu to catch their mounted flights.

According to Tamano, there are still 462 foreign tourists and another 796 domestic visitors currently stranded in the region.

Tamano, however, said with the latest guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), the government has adopted the necessary protocols to assist locally stranded individuals or LSIs, which involve several government agencies.

"Whilst before we coordinate directly with the MCIAA for the stranded local individuals, the latest guidelines stipulate the coordination with other stakeholders like the regional IATF, Philippine National Police, and the concerned local government units, among others, where we work as a team to transport the stranded individuals back home to their mother provinces," said the DOT-7 chief. (fcr/PIA7)