BY BOY RYAN ZABAL and JUN AGUIRRE
KALIBO, Aklan – The town of Malay, Aklan is ready to open its doors to Aklanons stranded in different provinces around the country and Aklanon overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the coming weeks, acting mayor Floribar Bautista said.
Lodging houses, hotels and evacuation centers in Malay town are being eyed as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quarantine facilities to ease the government-identified isolation centers in this capital town.
“May mga facilities sa Malay, Aklan na doon sila mag-quarantine ng dalawang linggo. Kahit may quarantine facilities sa Kalibo, baka kukulangin pag dumating ang maraming returning OFWs. We have to share responsibilities in accommodating repatriated OFWs,” said Bautista.
According to the mayor, the medical, transport and accommodation, among others, are being arranged for Aklanons who will return in this province.
The identified COVID-19 facilities of Malay will follow the protocols of the Department of Health to ensure the safety of the returning Aklanons and their needs.
“Hinihintay din natin ang protocols at guidelines ng Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases at ng Aklan Inter-Agency Task Force bago ang May 15. Ang importante ay walang dagdag na confirmed cases sa Malay,” Bautista added.
The Balik Akean Program intends to help Aklanons who want to go back to this province.
For Aklanons to enter this province, they are required to present a medical certificate showing that they are asymptomatic, to have a certificate of acceptance from their respective barangays and municipalities and to commit to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine in designated COVID-19 centers.
The Aklanon OFWs, on the other hand, they are required to undergo Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction test prior to entering this province.
Meanwhile, the now-defunct Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) is still hoping that President Rodrigo Duterte will renew the term of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) for at least a year and six months.
BIARMG was the management arm of the BIATF.
Natividad Bernardino, head of the BIARMG, said they had submitted a proposal to Malacañang last March to extend BIATF’s term which expired on May 8.
The BIATF was created through Executive Order Number 53, Series of 2018, which managed the six-month rehabilitation of Boracay Island two years ago.
“The task force’s role in rehabilitating Boracay was stalled. We are waiting for the decision of President Duterte. Then, the government agencies which are members of the BIATF could resume anytime their pending works at their own discretion,” Bernardino told Panay News.
Among those which have pending projects in the well-famed island are the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprize Zone Authority and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.(With a report from Akean Forum/PN)