ILOILO – Where will locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and repatriated overseas Filipinos (ROFs) be quarantined if local government units (LGUs) run out of quarantine facilities? Hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments operating in the province may be utilized, said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
In a virtual meeting yesterday, Defensor urged mayors to help him convince hotels and resorts to serve as temporary quarantine sites. The steady return of LSIs and ROFs is straining the quarantine facilities of LGUs.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will pay the hotels and resorts for the food and accommodation of the ROFs, said Defensor.
For LSIs, he said, the provincial government is ready to help the LGUs financially should the time come that their quarantine facilities (schools and covered gymnasiums) reach their full capacity.
Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas recently said he would ask hotels in Iloilo City to prioritize the metro’s ROFs and LSIs.
Those from Iloilo province, he said, should tap accommodation establishments in the province, too.
“We will issue an executive order that tanan nga hotels diri sa syudad will only cater to residents of Iloilo City. Ang taga probinsya indi lang anay diri sa aton because nabudlayan na kita. Ginhawa ta ka pangita sang aton quarantine facilities,” said Treñas.
In the next few days and weeks, more LSIs and ROFs are arriving, according to the mayor.
Serving as temporarily quarantine facilities is also beneficial to accommodation establishments, said Defensor, as they would be earning from the government despite a slump in clients due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
“Maayo ini nga alternatibo sa turismo. Imbes nga zero income ang hotels, may income sila,” he stressed.
The No. 1 economic driver of the whole country right now is government expenditure, said Defensor, thus “yadi pa ang kwarta nga mabalik sa sirkulasyon sa probinsya” through accommodation establishments serving as quarantine facilities.
Data from the Western Visayas Regional Task Force on COVID-19 showed that as of Aug. 20 11,577 ROFs have returned to the region. Here’s the breakdown:
* Iloilo City – 1,731
* Bacolod City – 1,715
* Aklan – 1,358
* Antique – 1,243
* Capiz – 1,697
* Guimaras – 452
* Iloilo – 2,081
* Negros Occidental – 1,300
As for LSIs, 33,955 have returned to the region as of Aug. 20.
Antique had the most number of LSIs at 8,970 followed by Negros Occidental (6,620), Capiz (5,811), Iloilo (4,699), Aklan (4,473), Bacolod City (1,745), Iloilo City (1,130), and Guimaras (507).
ILOILO SPORTS COMPLEX, TOO
The provincial government-managed Iloilo Sports Complex in La Paz, Iloilo City will be temporarily transformed into a quarantine facility.
Container vans will be set up inside the vast complex as quarantine quarters, said Defensor.
“Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 engineers already inspected the area. We’re about to start the work,” said Defensor.
Only frontliners such as healthcare workers will be accommodated in this quarantine facility, stressed the governor, should they test positive for COVID-19 or if they are waiting for the results of their COVID tests after having been swabbed.
“I can’t be certain yet with the bed capacity of this proposed quarantine facility but there will be lots of cubicles or dividers,” said Defensor.
The city government is welcome to use the sports complex quarantine facility, added Defensor.
The Iloilo Sports Complex in Barangay Magsaysay, La Paz is a multi-use sports complex. It has an Olympic-size swimming pool, an oval running track, a football field, two volleyball courts, two basketball courts, two tennis courts, and four badminton courts.
An indoor gymnasium is located 200 meters away from the main site.
A venue of sports events and occasionally of large gatherings such as concerts, the Iloilo Sports Complex’s main stadium has a seating capacity of 7,000./PN
