THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday, May 30, said it plans to require returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to undergo on-site tests for the novel coronavirus.
In a virtual press conference, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said OFWs would be tested prior to their actual repatriation.
"There have been discussions on how to hasten the process. One is, if possible, before OFWs board the planes in their points of origin, that they be tested already," said Bello.
This would ensure that OFWs would not have to stay in government-run quarantine facilities beyond the mandatory 14 days, which is equivalent to the incubation period for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
"Since they were already tested, it can shorten their quarantine days," said Bello.
Another measure they are looking at, he said, is the conduct of profiling of returning OFWs prior to their flight home.
"We want to know their regions already even before they return home. For example, if they are Ilocanos, Bisaya, Bicolanos. This way, we can group them and make the facilitation of their transportation easier," said the official.
"We also want them profiled immediately so that when they arrive home, we will already know what type of assistance we will be providing them," he added.
Bello said they were looking at introducing these methods in preparation for the arrival of 42,000 more OFWs in the coming weeks.
So far, around 24,000 OFWs have returned to the country. Most of them, however, were forced to stay in government quarantine facilities for more than 14 days because of the delayed release of their Covid-19 test results.
President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered DOLE and other relevant agencies to bring all 24,000 OFWs home within this week.
As of 6 a.m. May 30, 22,426 repatriated OFWs have gone home to their families.
"Of this figure, 19,042 were transported between May 25-28; and 3,384 were brought home on May 29 alone,” DOLE Undersecretary Claro Arellano said in a statement.
Based on the report of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Arellano said the agency provided 159 buses for transportation, while some were transported by sea and air.
All 24,000 OFWs tested negative for the novel coronavirus, or Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)