ILOILO City – The Philippine Red Cross in Metro Manila has been asked to test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) the estimated 150 Ilonggo overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in Metro Manila since March.
The testing and quarantining of the OFWs were requirements before they could be allowed to return to Iloilo.
According to Gilbert Paul Valderrama, administrator of Red Cross Iloilo, the Red Cross in Mandaluyong City has available test kits and laboratory for the testing.
He forwarded to their central office a copy of Resolution No. 12 of Western Visayas’ COVID-19 inter-agency task force that set the conditions for the return of Ilonggo OFWs “to ensure the general welfare of the repatriates and the safety of residents in Region 6”.
These are the conditions:
* OFWs shall submit their COVID-19 real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results from their country of origin should it be available.
* OFWs shall undergo RT PCR test prior to departure from their immediate point of entry. Only those whose results are negative will be allowed to depart and accepted in Region 6. Only Department of Health (DOH)-approved tests shall be accepted as valid results.
* OFWs are required to undergo 14-day quarantine and must be asymptomatic prior to departure from their immediate point of entry.
During the April 23 meeting of the inter-agency task force, Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. got in touch with Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Hans Leo Cacdac about the possible Red Cross testing of the OFWs.
The stranded Ilonggo OFWs are currently in the care of OWWA.
The testing would be done by batches of 50 each, said Defensor, citing Cacdac’s statement.
The first batch to complete the 14-day quarantine would be the first to be tested at the Red Cross facility.
OFWs who test negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, would be allowed to return to Iloilo.
Defensor said OWWA would be facilitating the OFWs’ trip.
Upon arrival in Iloilo, the OFWS would again be subjected to 14 days of quarantine.
According to Defensor, the Department of Tourism Region 6, a member of the regional inter-agency task force, identified the following as possible quarantine sites: Goldberry Hotel, GT Hotel (De Leon), GT Hotel (Jaro), Injap Tower Hotel, and Urban Inn.
“Naga-andam kita. Gusto naton papaulion ang OFWs pero siguruhon gid dapat nga wala sila sang may i-laton sa ila pamilya kag iban nga tawo,” said Defensor.
For his part, Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas announced on Thursday a plan to fetch the stranded OFWs using a private airplane.
Upon their return, the OFWs would be tested using rapid test kits, he said.
OFWs whose test results are positive would undergo confirmatory tests.
Treñas’ new plan is a complete turnaround from his previous stance that Ilonggo OFWs must first be tested in their place of origin and must be certified as free from COVID-19 before returning to Iloilo.
The mayor announced the plan amid criticisms of his being unfair to the OFWs for allowing the return here from Metro Manila of a close associate’s daughter who turned out positive for SARS-CoV-2./PN
