THE returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will stay at Graciano Lopez Jaena Elementary School in Bacolod City for their 14-day mandatory quarantine.
This was stressed by Israel Salanga Tuesday, April 28, after more than 20 OFWs or seafarers were expected to arrive in Bacolod last night.
Salanga, chairperson of Action Team on Returning OFWs, said they already prepared the quarantine center to accommodate the returning OFWs.
He said on Monday morning, they were informed that about 58 OFWs are expected to arrive here, but in the evening, they were informed that only 27 OFWs from Bacolod and more than 20 OFWs from Negros Occidental will arrive here on Tuesday evening.
He added that Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier urged the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) to closely coordinate with the City Government of Bacolod and the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental regarding the policies and protocols on repatriating overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are already in Manila.
The mayor earlier lamented that the City Government has been coordinating with the Owwa for some time regarding the scheduling of trips for the return of OFWs back to Bacolod, and just when the city was about to inform Owwa on the number of OFWs it was now ready to receive, he was alerted by the Provincial Government last Saturday that 102 Negrense OFWs, 58 of whom are Bacolodnons, are arriving at the Bredco Port Tuesday [April 28] reportedly on a travel authority granted by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer for Covid-19 National Action Plan.
He said that this impending arrival, apparently, was not arranged by Owwa but by other government agencies; and neither the province nor the city had any prior knowledge about it. Another ship arrival of OFWs is supposedly to follow on May 1.
Salanga said that upon arrival, the returning OFWs will be brought to a quarantine center in the city to start their 14-day sojourn there and undergo RT-PCR swab tests on which they should test negative first, before they will be finally allowed to go home.
“Our OFWs will stay in the quarantine center and they will not be allowed to accept visitors to protect our constituents against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19),” he said.
He added the OFWs also agreed to follow the protocols and promised to complete the 14-day quarantine.
Discussion about this post