An offer to returning Filipinos and OFWs

BATANG MAYNILA Manila Mayor Isko Moreno I am calling on all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipino returnees who test positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival in the country to take advantage of the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital (MCFH) located at the Luneta grounds as an alternative to pricey hotels and facilities. In the said hospital which is headed by our very efficient and dedicated director Dr. Arlene Dominguez, they can be accommodated free of charge and will be certainly taken care of by medical professionals. Access to our field hospital is available to our dear returning kababayans anytime. All they have to do upon arrival is just tell the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) not to bring them to any hotel or facility where they will have to spend a huge chunk of their hard-earned money. Instead, they can request that they brought straight to our COVID field hospital. I was raised in a family that gives importance to debt of gratitude and believes that we reap what we sow. So, this is our simple way of returning the favor or paying it forward, after countless immigrants and OFWs sent cash donations to the city government during the height of the pandemic in 2020. From the bottom of our hearts, I and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna continue thanking our fellow Filipinos who have donated and continue to donate whatever little they have as a way of supporting our administration. Rest assured that every single centavo that goes into the coffers of the local government is being spent wisely and for the benefit of the greater majority. While we cannot do anything to stop the infection, we can do something to at least try and save lives. We in the city government are doing everything humanly possible to stem the transmission of COVID -19 and prevent the loss of precious lives. All we ask in return is for the public to continue practicing the basic health protocols and to get vaccinated, in order to protect themselves, their loves ones, the communities where they belong and the country in general. He assured those who will avail of the free accommodation that the said field hospital headed by Dr. Arlene Dominguez as its director is comfortable and the patients do not have to spend a single centavo until they are fully cured. For those returning Filipinos who will opt to take our offer, let me assure that they are most welcome in the city of Manila and we certainly will be glad to be of help. We are offering accommodation at the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital where all the needed services are being given for free. There, they will be comfortable and will not have to spend anything. It is a fully-air conditioned, 344-bed capacity hospital that comes complete with caring doctors and nurses, oxygen, medicines, WiFi and daily provision of food, three times a day. As of this writing since we made such offer, the city government had already been receiving requests from OFWs and Filipino returnees for a free accommodation, saying they do not want a good portion of their savings going to hotel expenses alone. Since Dec. 31 last year, more than 100 OFWs and Filipino returnees were accommodated at one given time at the said hospital. Modesty aside, our facilities are at par with private hospitals and the record of recoveries there is a hundred percent. We are offering these services in the belief that COVID knows no boundaries and there is nothing to lose with helping one another. *** Gaya ng paulit-ulit  kong sinasabi, kailangan ko ang tulong ninyong lahat. Walang magmamalasakit sa Maynila kundi tayo ding mga Batang Maynila. Manila, God first!                 ***                                                                       For updates on latest developments in the city of Manila, please visit my Facebook account –‘Isko Moreno Domagoso.’