By Argyll Geducos Malacañang expressed confidence that future efforts to repatriate Filipinos from countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) will be seamless, assuring the public that the safety of everyone is still the government's top priority. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after all 30 repatriates from Wuhan, China received a clean bill of health and were cleared by the Department of Health (DOH) to leave the New Clark City quarantine facility Saturday. In a statement Saturday evening, Panelo welcomed the completion of the two-week quarantine, saying the repatriates will finally be reunited with their loved ones. "The Palace is pleased that the 30 Filipino repatriates from Wuhan, China have been given a clean bill of health and been released from quarantine at the Athlete’s Village at New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac to rejoin their families and loved ones in the Philippines," he said. Panelo said Malacañang was all praises for the departments of Health (DOH) and Foreign Affairs (DFA) for their efforts, saying future repatriations will surely be successful. "We commend the , together with the 10-man Health Emergency Response Team from both agencies, for their heroic efforts to bring back the first batch of repatriates from the epicenter of the COVID-19," he said. "The Office of the President is confident that the succeeding repatriation efforts will be seamless and will have a similar outcome as we assure that the safety of Filipinos here and abroad remains to be the paramount concern of the government," he added. The Palace official also thanked the local government and residents of Capas, Tarlac for hosting the repatriates. "We likewise thank the local government, as well as the residents, of Capas, Tarlac for their cooperation and understanding in hosting our fellow countrymen during their quarantine period," Panelo said. According to the DFA, they will be repatriating over 400 Filipinos from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship that is docked in Yokohama, Japan in the next few days. It added that other repatriation efforts will also be undertaken by the agency in the coming weeks. In a statement, the DOH said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) has resolved to tentatively schedule the repatriation of Filipinos aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise ship early next week to allow Japanese health authorities to complete the laboratory testing of the 400-plus Filipino crew members and to comply with established Japanese quarantine protocols. "IATF-EID is adjusting the schedule out of an abundance of caution with a view to safeguarding the health and safety of our OFs onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship," the DOH said in a statement.