ILOILO City – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) denied violating the protocols set by the national government’s Inter–Agency Task Forcefor the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) when it facilitated the return here on April 8 of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in Cebu.
In a statement issued yesterday, Administrator Hans Cacdac stressed OWWA was guided by two IATF-EID resolutions. These were the following:
* IATF Resolution No. 18-2020 (April 1, 2020): “Local government units (LGUs) are hereby strongly enjoined to allow the unhampered transit of OFWs who have been issued Department of Health (DOH) or LGU certificate of completion of 14-day facility-based quarantine, or those who may be required by the Department of Health (DOH) or LGUs to undergo a mandatory 14-day home quarantine.”
* IATF Resolution No. 22-2020 (April 8, 2020): “To carry out the directive under Paragraph (F) of IATF Resolution No. 18, series of 2020 of ensuring the unhampered transit of OFWs who have been issued certificates of completion of 14-day quarantine, or those who may be required to undergo mandatory 14-day home quarantine, all LGUs are enjoined to allow the docking of maritime vessels in their ports, as well as to allow the disembarkation and transit of the aforementioned OFWs to their ultimate destination in the country.”
“If we have been imperfect, then I apologize to Mayor (Jerry) Treñas and the City of Iloilo. At the same time, we offer our continuing support and partnership, as there are many more OFWs we could serve during this, perhaps, greatest challenge of our generation,” according to Cacdac.
On Monday, Treñas accused OWWA of violating protocols when it returned to Iloilo the OFWs in Cebu, thereby compromising the health and safety of 32 city government health workers and staff, six personnel of the city’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, 14 personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard, and 42 crew of shipping line Cokaliong.
Three of the OFWs from Cebu tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a rapid test, said Treñas, and in the subsequent confirmatory test, one of them against tested positive.
Cacdac insisted that the names and transport of the OFWs, specifically the three who tested positive in the rapid test, were coordinated with the Office of Civil Defense (Regions 6 and 7), the Cebu City Government, and the Iloilo City Government.
The three OFWs arrived in Cebu from Dubai via Emirates Airlines on separate dates from March 17 to March 19.
They left Cebu with Medical Certificates from the DOH-Bureau of Quarantine or the Cebu City Health Department issued on April 2, April 6, and April 8, respectively, stressed Cacdac.
These certificates stated that the three OFWs were asymptomatic and had hurdled the 14-day quarantine in Cebu, he added.
“Our people on the ground in both Regions 6 and 7 guided the three OFWs and around 20 other Ilonggo OFWs that night of April 8 — before, during and after the boat trip from Cebu to Iloilo City. We kept them company and guided them. And we wish to assure them that we shall maintain our assistance, because this is how we are at OWWA. We treat our dear OFWs as more than family. If they are healthy, we help them with whatever needs they may have. If they are sick, we help them even more,” Cacdac said.
In another statement released yesterday, Treñas insisted, “I was terribly shocked to learn that there was a violation of protocols established by the IATF. Aside from OFWs who had finished the 14-day quarantine in Cebu there were three undocumented persons who were allowed to join the group. It was from the three undocumented persons that one person turned positive both in the rapid testing and the confirmatory PCR test. We are still awaiting the results of the confirmatory tests from the laboratory up to now. Protocols established by the IATF are there for a reason and we should adhere to them.”
In a follow up text message, the city mayor said he wanted this issue closed already, and move on.
“We are all imperfect and let us accept each other’s imperfection. Let us all leave this issue aside and face the many challenges ahead including how we deal with our OFWs. Let us move on and do our outmost to work hand in hand with all government agencies in the spirit of cooperation with mutual respect,” he stated./PN
