16 students left stranded in Pisay dorm in Romblon amid quarantine restrictions

Sixteen students were left stranded in the Philippine Science High School-MIMAROPA dormitory in Odiongan, Romblon after the extended quarantine in multiple regions imposed travel restrictions.

Five of the students are from Metro Manila, four from CALABARZON, one from Central Luzon, three from Palawan, and three from Iloilo.

According to a statement from the school administration, some parents decided to bring their kids home when the President Rodrigo Duterte announced the community quarantine in Metro Manila on March 12.

Others, however, let their kids stay in the dorm thinking they would be safer there.

"We never thought that the lockdown would last this long, nor the limitations on travel this pervasive," the administration said.

Except for one student living in a rented apartment with a housekeeper, all of the students have been staying in the dormitory since the lockdown began and would have gone home at the end of the regular school year this May.

Since April, the school has been making contingency plans to bring the children home.

Directors of different PSHS campuses have offered their school vehicles to fetch the children going home to Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon from the Batangas port.

Meanwhile, the students going home to Iloilo will be fetched from the Caticlan port.

The school has also been looking for flights available to bring home the children from Palawan in the event that flights resume.

"Although these plans are already laid out, we cannot just board the boats for Batangas and Caticlan," the school said. "We understand that we need the authority of relevant government agencies since bringing them home would entail traversing multiple local government jurisdictions in five regions."

The school has reached out to the Department of Interior and Local Government and enrolled their students in the Department of Transportation’s Balik Estudyante Program. They are currently waiting for the government’s feedback.

The school also assured everyone that the students are taken care of and they are in constant communication with the parents. They also waived the students' dorm fees and electrical fees.

"The welfare of our students have been foremost in our minds since the beginning of this national health emergency, and we will continue to look after them until we can get them home to their parents," the school said. —MGP, GMA News