Mayor to restrict city hotels from accepting OFWs from provinces

Mayor Jerry Treñas is set to issue an executive order (EO) restricting hotels in Iloilo City from accepting returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) from other provinces.

The mayor said the order is necessary following the surge of ROFs arriving in Iloilo City and the quarantine facilities prepared by the city government are already running out of beds.

“Manug-issue kita EO nga ang mga hotels indi lang anay mag-cater sang taga probinsya because nabudlyan na kita. Ayawan na kita pangita sang mga quarantine facilities and may flights pa manug-abot nga mga OFWs,” he said in a press conference on Monday.

Last weekend, quarantine facilities of the city government were overwhelmed by the surge in ROFs arriving in the city and the lack of coordination of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The mayor immediately ordered the City Covid-19 Team to open additional quarantine facilities to cater to ROFs regardless of their residences.

In a previous interview, Jeck Conlu, spokesman of the City Covid-19 Team, he said that 80 percent of the hotel rooms in the city have been occupied by repatriates from Iloilo province and other neighboring provinces.

Over the past two weeks, Iloilo City has also been swamped with the surge in local cases traced to major hotspots in the city, resulting in quarantine facilities reaching full capacity.

Treñas said that the delay in the release of test results of ROFs and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) slowed the discharge of COVID-19 patients staying in quarantine facilities.

“Naga-ayo man ako sa Department of Health (DOH) ta nga tani padasigon ang pagwa sang resulta sang ila mga test bangod puno na aton facilities sang mga LSIs kag ROFs halin sa probinsya pero indi man naton sila mapagwa bangod mandatory ang quarantine kon wala pa ang swab result,” he lamented.

According to the mayor, Iloilo province should open its resorts and hotels to cater arriving OFWs.

“I was told may ara man hotels and resorts sa probinsya. It is about time nga ma-open ang mga resorts for the OFWs,” he stressed.

The city government has opened up more quarantine facilities as it anticipates the return of more LSIs and OFWs following the end of the 14-day travel moratorium.

As of Tuesday, there are 635 available beds out of the 962 total bed capacity in the city’s quarantine facilities. (ERS)