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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider DILG to LGUs: Home quarantine, not isolation for returning OFWs

DILG to LGUs: Home quarantine, not isolation for returning OFWs

Published May 27, 2020 12:00 am
By Chito Chavez  The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Wednesday that all local government units (LGUs) should impose a 14-day home quarantine on the returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) instead of isolating them away from their homes. DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN) DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "Pinakamaganda nga diyan home quarantine na lang para kasama na nila, puwede naman yung home quarantine (Home quarantine is better for them to see their families, home quarantine is allowed)," DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said. "Allowed naman yung LGU na magimpose ng additional quarantine (LGUs are allowed to impose additional quarantine)," Año added, citing their duty to ensure the containment of the disease. Normally, Año said, areas with zero COVID-19 cases could impose a strict quarantine for returning OFWs saying they could not be blamed for protecting public health. But, Año said LGUs that deny entry to returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have undergone quarantine will be held liable. He warned LGUs that rejecting OFWs is a violation of the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act. "I myself will make sure na hahabulin ko kayo (I will run after you). I am warning you, stop na 'yan (I am warning you, stop that)," Año said. Año said having a zero case of COVID-19 is not an excuse for an LGU to refuse entry for returning OFWs. President Duterte reiterated his call for LGUs to accept OFWs returning to their homes, saying only the national government could impose travel restrictions. The President explained that the national government’s power to restrict travel due to a national emergency cannot be shared with the local government. LGUs that want to impose new protocols should first ask permission from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). 7,500 OFWs return home Since May 25, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the government was able to bring home 7,500 OFWs. “So far, we were able to bring home 7,500 OFWs in the first two days. We expect this number to still increase,” he said during the Laging Handa press briefing yesterday. “We are now in day three of the seven-day period given to us by the President,” Cacdac added. On Monday, President Duterte gave the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), OWWA and the Department of Health (DOH) one week to send home the estimated 24,000 repatriated OFWs staying in quarantine facilities in Metro Manila. All returning OFWs are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine in a government-designated facility and get tested for COVID-19 before being allowed to return home. (With a report from Leslie Ann G. Aquino)
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