CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is set to join the legislative hearing calendared by the House committee on overseas workers affairs on Thursday, June 17, 2021, as it will take up the protocols set by the government for the Filipinos living and working overseas who are returning home.
The committee led by Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, in a letter dated June 14, has requested the governor to be its resource person on its discussion of the swab test and quarantine policies set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for the returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Garcia accepted the House committee’s invitation, but she will join the hearing through a video conference.
The Provincial Government still implements its policy to swab on arrival the ROFs and OFWs who arrive at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), contradicting that of the IATF, which requires a facility-based quarantine for 10 days and a swab test or the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for the novel coronavirus only on the seventh day.
The Provincial Ordinance 2021-04 was amended last June 11 to include the RT-PCR test on the seventh day, which was not stipulated in the original version.
The implementation of the Capitol’s policy continues despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to enforce the IATF protocols in Cebu. The Chief Executive’s decision, relayed by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, came after the Office of the Executive Secretary’s memorandum extending the diversion of flights from MCIA to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) expired.
The first diversion happened from May 29 to June 5—international flights bound for MCIA were diverted to NAIA. The flight diversion was extended until 11:59 p.m. of June 12, to ensure that the IATF protocols to prevent Covid-19 transmission are also enforced in Cebu.
International flights arrived at the MCIA again on Sunday, June 13, but Cebu’s arrival protocols, not the IATF’s, were enforced again.
The other matters that the House committee will discuss include the updates on the overseas workers affected by the pandemic; the classification of OFWs as under the A1 priority group (workers in frontline health services) in the vaccination program; the difficulties with the online registration for the vaccination; and the proposed fair and ethical recruitment law for the OFWs.
Prepared
For its part, the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) is prepared to meet the members and experts of the IATF, and listen to their critique of the Province’s approach on the pandemic.
The PB is set to pass a resolution on Monday, June 21, to formally invite the IATF medical experts and consultants to present their findings at the Capitol Building in Cebu City, said PB Member John Ismael Borgonia of the third district.
Borgonia said he noticed that the issue on the swab test and quarantine policy during the June 15 Senate hearing attended by Garcia via a video conference, was not just about the legal aspect.
It became a “medical and scientific” matter also, he said.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Christina Gianggo and Department of Health 7 chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche will explain the stand of the Province as the PB believes in their “expertise and they have the right data to show,” said Borgonia.
During the Senate hearing, Sen. Pia Cayetano urged the IATF and Health Secretary Francisco Duque to visit Cebu within 30 days to assess whether there is a need to implement the Provincial Government’s protocols for arriving OFWs and ROFs.
Garcia also invited the IATF and Duque to explain to the local leaders the body’s insistence on enforcing its own protocols in Cebu. (ANV / KAL)