BACOLOD City – Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) must submit themselves to voluntary swabbing upon arrival in this city.
This was the proposal of Councilor Israel Salanga, chairperson of the city’s Action Team on Returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ATRO), following the recent directive of the national Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF).
Effective May 8, the NIATF said: “All inbound travelers shall undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival. The first 10 days shall be observed in a quarantine facility (either in Manila or in Cebu), with the remainder to be completed under home quarantine in their respective local government units (LGUs) of destination.”
“Meaning, wala na ‘to ang swab sa ika-fifth day then pag-negative puli sa Bacolod,” Salanga explained, citing the previous protocol imposed by the city government.
To note, OFWs and ROFs are quarantined upon reaching Manila and are required to undergo swabbing on the fifth day. Once they yield a negative result on the sixth day, those identified by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will be scheduled to board a sweeper flights.
“Now, ma-stay gid kamo 10 days sa quarantine facility sa Manila or Cebu. Then ang four days remaining, sa inyo na lang balay sa Bacolod,” Salanga reiterated.
According to NIATF’s guidelines, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing shall be conducted on the seventh day with Day 1 being the day of arrival.
Notwithstanding a negative test result, Salanga added, the inbound traveler shall complete the facility-based quarantine period of 10 days.
But what seems to be the problem?
There’s still an existing protocol requiring inbound travelers their negative RT-PCR results 72 hours prior to entry, Salanga pointed out.
“It would mean that the OFWs or the ROFs are only allowed to go home on the 10th day following their negative (swab) results,” he said.
However, he noted, the swab test result had already lapsed on the required time travel.
“I will propose to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) here that the arriving OFWs and ROFs will be subject to swab and go, as part of the preventive measures to contain COVID-19,” Salanga stressed.
An OFW is a member of the OWWA or a worker abroad registered under the agencies in the country.
An ROF, meanwhile, is a non-member of the OWWA, including balikbayans, tourists, those married to foreigners, migrants, among others./PN
