Iloilo halts return of 100 stranded OFWs after COVID-19 positive case
Published Apr 14, 2020 12:00 am
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – Around 100 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were not able to fly back home here Tuesday after an OFW repatriated last week tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The OFWs who arrived in Iloilo City last April 9, 2020. One of them tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo via Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas announced that the scheduled April 14 from Manila was cancelled.
This came after Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo province and the mayors of the 42 towns and component city of Passi echoed the stand of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas in opposing the breach of protocols committed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Of the first batch of OFWs who initially returned last week in Iloilo, one of them tested for COVID-19. This was confirmed by test results from the only accredited facility of the Department of Health (DOH) in the region.
“We like to see our OFWs home with their families, but allowing them to come home at this time only increases the risk to their own families,” Defensor said.
Defensor also noted that if the OFWs were allowed to come home, it would defeat the purpose of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that may be further extended if any of the OFWs turns out be a source of COVID-19 transmission.
Taking cue from the experience of the Iloilo City government in having the burden of finding isolation area for the returning OFWs for another round of quarantine, Defensor took OWWA to task and ask the agency to find the facility that will make sure the OFWs are tested before they are allowed to set foot in Iloilo.
The Manila Bulletin also received complaints that OWWA personnel in Western Visayas were not even physically present at the inter-agency operation center for COVID-19, with personnel from other government agencies being left to answer queries from family members of stranded OFWs.
In a statement released Tuesday, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac offered an apology.
“If we have been imperfect, then I apologize to Mayor Treñas and the City of Iloilo,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac reiterated that OWWA has been only its job as stipulated in the resolution by the inter-agency task force for COVID-19 in taking care of the needs of OFWS while local governments should allow the unhampered transit of the OFWs.
Cacdac also specifically stated the OFWs were cleared by health authorities when they left Cebu after undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine and were asymptomatic.
Meanwhile, OWWA assured it will continue to aid other stranded OFWs as the world continues to deal with COVID-19.
“We have aided around 10,000 stranded OFWs. They are OFWs we have personally transported, fed, accommodated, befriended, and kept company during these difficult times,” Cacdac said.
The OFWs who arrived in Iloilo City last April 9, 2020. One of them tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo via Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas announced that the scheduled April 14 from Manila was cancelled.
This came after Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo province and the mayors of the 42 towns and component city of Passi echoed the stand of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas in opposing the breach of protocols committed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Of the first batch of OFWs who initially returned last week in Iloilo, one of them tested for COVID-19. This was confirmed by test results from the only accredited facility of the Department of Health (DOH) in the region.
“We like to see our OFWs home with their families, but allowing them to come home at this time only increases the risk to their own families,” Defensor said.
Defensor also noted that if the OFWs were allowed to come home, it would defeat the purpose of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that may be further extended if any of the OFWs turns out be a source of COVID-19 transmission.
Taking cue from the experience of the Iloilo City government in having the burden of finding isolation area for the returning OFWs for another round of quarantine, Defensor took OWWA to task and ask the agency to find the facility that will make sure the OFWs are tested before they are allowed to set foot in Iloilo.
The Manila Bulletin also received complaints that OWWA personnel in Western Visayas were not even physically present at the inter-agency operation center for COVID-19, with personnel from other government agencies being left to answer queries from family members of stranded OFWs.
In a statement released Tuesday, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac offered an apology.
“If we have been imperfect, then I apologize to Mayor Treñas and the City of Iloilo,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac reiterated that OWWA has been only its job as stipulated in the resolution by the inter-agency task force for COVID-19 in taking care of the needs of OFWS while local governments should allow the unhampered transit of the OFWs.
Cacdac also specifically stated the OFWs were cleared by health authorities when they left Cebu after undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine and were asymptomatic.
Meanwhile, OWWA assured it will continue to aid other stranded OFWs as the world continues to deal with COVID-19.
“We have aided around 10,000 stranded OFWs. They are OFWs we have personally transported, fed, accommodated, befriended, and kept company during these difficult times,” Cacdac said.