By Jean Fernando
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez came out with an order prescribing a protocol governing the unhampered transit within the city of arriving and departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
(Mayor Edwin Olivarez / MANILA BULLETIN)
Olivarez issued an order in compliance with the directive of the Inter Agency Task Force on Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MED) to allow the unhampered transit of OFWs who have been issued Department of Health (DOH) or local government unit certificate of completion of 14-day facility-based quarantine or those who may be required to undergo 14-day home quarantine.
He also established DILG-OFW desk to be manned by a designated local government operations officer, who will act as desk officer.
The designated DILG-OFW desk officer will directly coordinate with the Office of the Mayor and provide relevant information on the concerned OFW as well as necessary assistance.
The operation officer must also monitor the health status of the concerned OFW with the help of the city health and barangay workers or the members of the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team.
Olivarez also ordered the preparation and submission of reports using the monitoring template provided by the DILG through the DILG emergency operation center.
The city government may also extend police assistance to the OFW should it be necessary.
The mayor emphasized the need for compliance with the mandate of the IATF-MED that requires a notice of the arrival or departure of an OFW. These notices must be submitted with all the necessary information, such as the names and number of the OFW, place of origin and destination, plate numbers of vehicles to be used, number of vehicles to be used in the transport and the intended route.
In case an arriving OFW has a hotel accommodation within the city, it is the obligation of the DILG-OFW desk officer to notify the barangay chairman and the city’s police chief to ensure and manage compliance with the mandatory quarantine. #