BY MATÉ ESPINA
FIVE returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) may face legal action against the provincial government for allegedly withholding information about their travel history when they returned home to Negros Occidental.
Of the five OFWs, two came from the United Kingdom where the new variant of COVID-19 virus was discovered and where there is currently a travel ban imposed by the Philippine government.
The two OFWs are residents of Pontevedra town in southern Negros Occidental and were found positive of the virus. Their swab samples have been forwarded to Manila for further testing if these are the new variants which are known to be fast-spreader.
Negros Occidental’s Gov. Bong Lacson urged returning OFWs to be more transparent in their disclosure after the two that tested positive allegedly declared themselves as locally stranded individuals which required them to be swabbed.
The governor also said that the two from UK arrived in Manila on Dec. 31 and were not able to complete their mandatory 14-day quarantine in Manila before flying home to Negros. They are now on strict home quarantine pending the results of whether they are new variant carriers before transferring them to the province’s quarantine facility.
OFWs are normally not compelled to undergo swab testing but because of this incident, the governor said they will continue to request them for further testing upon landing.
It was a similar call for transparency from the city government of Bacolod after the Emergency Operations Center, tasked to monitor and contact-trace those who tested positive, reported that some patients withhold vital information that may jeopardize accurate tracing of contacts.
Although Bacolod reported low double digit cases, there are still over a hundred active cases in the city and the local government are trying to contain and ensure that the numbers will remain relatively low and manageable.
Still in Bacolod, some local officials are seeking the dismissal of the civil case involving the P1.7 billion loan contracted by the city with the Development Bank of the Philippines.
The case was filed by former Vice Mayor Thaddy Sayson, former Councilor Joselle Batapa-Sigue and businessman, Antonio Wong and in a recent development, the court ordered the city officials to answer within 30-days the complaint.
However, City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan who acts as counsel for the accused which includes Mayor Bing Leonardia, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and current and past councillors as well as other department heads and officials of DBP, called the civil case mere forum shopping as the same has been filed before the Supreme Court using the same evidences.
Meanwhile, two weeks after the massive flooding in the third district for two consecutive weekends, Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said that he will propose suspending quarry operations in the area for two years if indeed quarrying will be proven as the major cause of the flooding that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents in the area.
In an earlier inquiry, Environment Committee Chair, Board Member Andrew Montelibano said that they will review the licenses and operations of some 200 quarry operators in the area. The number of quarries revealed by the official actually took a lot of Negrenses by surprise who were not aware that there are so many in that line of business in just one district.
The province are also targeting illegal operators outside of the 200 licensed ones after reports claimed that a bridge in Manapla town, just outside of the third district, was damaged and allegedly due to quarry operations.
On top of that, Montelibano also revealed that the Environment office has over 1,000 pending applications for quarry permits, prompting the official to say there is a need to “balance” development and environmental protection.
“We build something but we destroy something too,” said Montelibano.
It’s not all bad news in this part of the region. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat was recently in town to hand over almost P9 million in cash assistance to about 1,700 displaced tourism workers in the province.
Puyat said this is part of the P100 million grant to tour guides affected by the pandemic who will get to receive P5,000 each.
She also announced that there is a P6 billion grant in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry that will provide loans to small and medium enterprises related to tourism. These loans will be at zero interest rate and payable within four years.
Tourism is one of the badly hit industries due to COVID-19 and in Negros Occidental, tourism related business dropped by 85 percent. It is slowly recovering as towns and cities in the province, especially those in southern Negros Occidental which are beach destinations, have started opening up.
Puyat also graced the launching of the “Negrense Heritage Cooking” book which she said will serve as a legacy to ensure that heirloom dishes of Negros will be passed on from one generation to another./PN
