ILOILO City – “I was terribly mad at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA),” confessed Mayor Jerry Treñas.
He accused the agency of violating the protocol on return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), 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.
Over the weekend, OWWA allowed 40 Ilonggo OFWs (land-based and sea-based) to return to Iloilo City without first testing them for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“I told OWWA we will no longer accept OFWs if the agency won’t follow the protocol set by the Inter-Agency Task Force of the national government. Returning OFWs should first be tested by the Department of Health,” said Treñas.
“Ang natabo, ginpasa tanan sang OWWA sa aton kag kita diri ang nag-quarantine (sa OFWs). This should have been the task of OWWA. It should have isolation centers for returning OFWs,” according to the mayor.
He added: “I was only informed about the returning OFWs the night before nagpauli sila.”
This sent the city government scrambling to test the OFWs.
Three OFWs initially tested positive in the rapid test but a confirmatory test by the Western Visayas Medical Center showed only one had the virus.
“So I was terribly mad at OWWA. Waay nagsunod sang protocol. I told them ‘Yudiputa’ kamo. Indi na ‘ya pwede matabo,’” said Treñas.
“The OFWs should have been tested before going home. We could have saved our frontliners and the rest of their fellow passengers from the risk of infection,” Treñas added.
What OWWA did was “a very serious matter,” said the mayor. “I do not want this to happen again.”
“Nagapanawagan ako sa mga ahensya nga natungdan. Indi ini masarangan sang lokal nga gobyerno lamang. Magbinuligay kita,” said Treñas./PN
