AROUND 678 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from three repatriation flights arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on Monday, May 25, 2020.
Eda Eclonar, Overseas Workers Welfare Association (Owwa) 7 information officer, said the flights arrived at 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. from Manila.
The OFWs were immediately taken to different hotels and accomodation places in Cebu City.
Owwa will pay for the stay of the OFWs there.
They are among the 24,000 OFWs who tested negative for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after undergoing the 14-day mandatory quarantine and who are now being sent back to their home provinces starting May 25 to 27, said Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
However, they will still undergo health protocol being implemented by the province based on Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order (EO) 17 signed on May 19.
Under EO 17, OFWs or returning non-OFWs may be allowed entry into the Province of Cebu provided that their Covid-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test yields a negative result and prior to their arrival in Cebu, they were issued a Department of Health or local government unit (LGU) certificate of completion of a 14-day facility-based quarantine.
The EO further states that upon arrival in Cebu, the OFWs shall be quarantined for an additional seven days by the Owwa before going home to their LGU of residence; and thereafter, be subjected to other protocols that may be required by the said LGU.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night, May 25, ordered LGUs to accept the returning OFWs.
“I’m ordering you to accept them, open the gates of your territories and allow the Filipino to travel wherever they want,” the President said.
Duterte said only the National Government can impose restrictions on travels.
“(So) as not to confuse people, you are not allowed to unilaterally declare that you are closing the egress and ingress ng tao. Mahirap ‘yan, magkagulo tayo (That will be difficult. It will result in chaos),” he said.
“If you want a measure to be implemented in your LGU, ask permission from the task force,” Duterte added, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. (JOB with SunStar Philippines)