‘UNFOLLOWED PROTOCOL’: Iloilo City to stop entry of returning OFWs

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City will temporarily stop Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) from entering the city amid the Expanded Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This was announced by Mayor Jerry Treñas after the latest confirmed case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iloilo City, a 40-year-old male OFW from La Paz who came back from the United Kingdom.

The patient was allegedly one of the 29 OFWs who returned to Iloilo City by sea from Cebu on Saturday, but the city government has neither confirmed nor denied this information.

Treñas met with officials from national government agencies, including the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA), Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to discuss the case of returning OFWs.

He said that the OWWA did not follow the rules set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

“Apparently, OWWA did not follow the procedure provided for in the (IATF-EID) rules and regulations, and I told them that we will no longer accept OFWs if they do not follow the protocol provided for in the (IATF-EID), which is the OFW who is returning to our place should be tested by the (Department of Health). We are ready to accept OFW if they are newly tested,” he said.

According to Treñas, 94 people have been compromised as a result of exposure to the OFW. This includes 14 personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard, 32 staff of the City Health Office, 6 personnel of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, and 42 crew members from Cokaliong Lines.

The mayor said that he made it clear to the agencies that he will only allow OFWs to enter if protocols will be followed.

“We made it clear to the OWWA, to the DOT, to OCD, that henceforth, they should follow the protocol and we will no longer allow any OFW to be transferred to Iloilo (City) unless there is a clear performance of all the other requirements provided for by the (IATF-EID),” he said.

He added that OWWA was tasked to designate a quarantine facility for the OFWs, but instead passed the task to the city government.

“It is the OWWA and the manning agencies who should find where (the OFWs) would be quartered. Ang natabo diri ya, ginpasa tanan sang OWWA sa aton, kag kita ya ang ginpabutang quarantine. Maayo lang gani may ara rapid test kits kita, and they found out nga nag-positive itong tatlo. Immediately, gin-separate to sila sa iban naton nga OFW. Henceforth, we will no longer accept. It is the obligation of OWWA to provide the isolation centers for the (OFWs),” he said.

The mayor said that he was only informed of the return of the OFWs a night before they were transported to the city.

He expressed his anger at OWWA, saying that the city government could have prepared its actions beforehand.

“I was only informed about [the arrival] the night before nag-abot sila. I wasn’t given any information about this. I was tiredly mad at OWWA for coming up with that, nga waay gani nagsunod sa protocol, and I told them, ‘Y***p**a kamo!’ Indi na na ya pwede matabo because kita tanan naga-sakripisyo na diri. Wala kita naga-hambal nga indi kita mag-baton sang OFW. But you know, if nasunod ang protocol, tani kun may ara nga positive, na-separar na sila nga daan,” he said.

Treñas said that the city government is also waiting for the confirmatory tests of the OFWS from the Western Visayas Medical Center.

The ECQ in Iloilo City was first implemented through Executive Order No. 055-2020 on March 20, 2020, and was supposed to end April 14, 2020. But it was extended to April 30 by Executive Order No. 060 issued on April 8.

The mayor also issued Executive Order No. 063 ordering the Expanded ECQ, which mandated the closure of all establishments in the city, with few exemptions, on April 18 to 19 and April 25 to 26, 2020.

 

‘DOH WAS AWARE’

Dr. Ma. Sophia Pulmones, Officer-in-Charge of the DOH Center for Health Development-6’s Local Health Services Division, said that the DOH was aware of the OFW arrivals in Western Visayas and that they had informed local government units (LGU) in advance.

“Aware ang DOH sa pag-abot sang aton nga OFWs kag sa reported nga arrival sang mga [batch of 200] OFWs halin sa Manila. May information kita nga nabaton, kag na-coordinate naman ina sa [LGUs]. So aton nga mga [LGUs], gin-recommend naton kag may na-identify naman sila nga mga quarantine facilities nga kun diin dira ibutang ang mga OFW repatriates once nga mag-abot sila sa aton nga lugar,” Pulmones said.

She added that if there were confirmed COVID-19 cases, the LGUs must transfer these patients to a different isolation facility.

Regarding the protocol, Dr. Pulmones said that from the port of entry the OFWs must have undergone quarantine.

“Sa protocol naton, sa port of entry, kinahangalan naka-quarantine na sila, 14 days nga facility-based quarantine. May ara kita sina nga guidelines on the repatriation of land-based and sea-based OFWs,” she said.

According to the DOH, Iloilo City has a total of five confirmed COVID-19 cases. Two are still admitted in a hospital while one is under home quarantine. There is one COVID-19 death and one recovery.