ILOILO – Local chief executives in this province are firm in their stand to keep the 14-day quarantine requirement for repatriated overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
“Ang safety sang tanan ang gina-push sang majority sang mga mayors,” said San Enrique town’s Mayor Rosario Mediatrix Fernandez, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) – Iloilo chapter.
She disclosed to Panay News the consensus of mayors during Thursday’s virtual meeting initiated by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
Swabbing, according to Fernandez, may no longer be mandatory for ROFs showing no symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as long as they will isolate at the quarantine facilities of their local government units (LGUs) for two weeks.
“Gina-propose nga indi na lang pag-swab ang mga ROFs kon indi symptomatic tapos e-release after sang 14-day quarantine provided wala sila sang signs and symptoms,” explained Fernandez.
The swabbing, she said, will be done only when an ROF has manifested symptoms of COVID-19.
Fernandez also revealed LMP’s intention to make an appeal to the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 to reconsider its latest quarantine policy for ROFs.
She is set to submit a resolution to Defensor today and will be forwarded to the regional and national task forces.
“This is just an appeal. Indi man hambal nga amo gid ini ang sundon naton pero gina-appeal naton nga kontani amo ‘ni ang mga bagay nga i-reconsider nila,” said Fernandez.
Earlier, the national government’s task force against COVID-19 issued a directive stating ROFs in good health and with negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test results need not stay at the quarantine facilities of their LGUs for two weeks.
But receiving LGUs are apprehensive of this latest order, citing that this could further spread the illness.
Without mandatory quarantine at isolation centers, ROFs are encouraged to observe home quarantine.
However, according to Fernandez, there is no guarantee that the ROFs would be faithful to their home quarantine. Not all homes, she said, are conducive for such.
“Bal-an ta man ang home quarantine ever since indi effective, indi proper, indi ideal and suitable for quarantine to ensure the safety sang other family members,” stressed Fernandez.
If infected ROFs will let loose, they could exacerbate situation in LGUs currently dealing with local transmission, she pointed out.
On Aug. 19 the national task force against COVID-19 headed by Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued the “Operational Guidelines on the Management of Returning Overseas Filipinos.” The salient features are the following:
* All receiving LGUs shall not deny the entry of ROFs with complete requirements, provided that prior coordination was made through the NTF and/or the Regional Task Forces (RTFs), and other concerned agencies as deemed necessary.
* All ROFs in good health with test documents showing negative RT-PCR result for COVID-19 shall not be subjected to another 14-day quarantine by the receiving LGUs.
The guidelines also listed things/moves that LGUs must do upon the ROFs’ arrival. These are the following:
* The concerned RTF/LGUs shall facilitate the transportation of arriving ROFs to their respective home provinces.
* Upon arrival of ROFs to their final destination, the Local COVID Task Force shall receive the ROFs and assist in their transportation to their respective homes.
* The ROFs shall no longer be subjected to Local Health Protocols by receiving LGUs.
* The ROFs shall notify their respective LGUs if they manifest signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
As of Aug. 27 data of the Western Visayas Regional Task Force on COVID-19, Region 6 had 11,601 ROFs. Here’s the breakdown:
* Iloilo City – 1,731
* Bacolod City – 1,715
* Aklan – 1,350
* Antique – 1,243
* Capiz – 1 ,697
* Guimaras – 452
* Iloilo – 2,105
* Negros Occidental – 1,300/PN
