MANILA — “Ngayon po, pangako ko na pakikialaman na natin yan at talagang hihingi tayo ng imbentaryo ng OWWA kung sino sino ang nag-antay ng resulta, bakit ganuon katagal at bibigyan ko kayo ng abiso,” Secretary Harry Roque, spokesperson on the IATF during a noontime virtual press briefing on Tuesday, said about the complaints of many overseas Filipino workers stranded in quarantine facilities in Manila.
“Ako at ang presidente ay na-concern na dito dahil ang mga OFW nawalan na ng trabaho, gusto nang makauwi at titingnan natin kung paano mapabilis yan. We will look into this now and go out of our way and ask OWWA for an inventory lalo na yong matagal na, and we will ask the laboratories kung kaya ba nila o hindi,” said Sec. Roque.
On Monday radio interview with Usec. Hans Leo Cacdac, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), he said that some 7,500 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are about to be released from their quarantine facilities in Manila but are waiting for the results of the confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The confirmatory tests and additional 14-day quarantine are required for returning OFWs and overseas Filipinos based on the guidelines of the AITF.
OWWA said that the PCR test through swabbing took a long time to be processed in government accredited hospitals and testing centers of the Red Cross probably because of the big test backlogs of the country. The agency is expecting about 20,000 more OFWs to come in the next few weeks.
Malacañang also received reports of the situation of OFWs who are billeted in hotels used as OWWA facilities and commercial ships commissioned by the Coast Guard for quarantine purposes as early as April 19. Some of these stranded workers are senior citizens, pregnant women, and families with children.
The intervention of Malacañang, will hopefully relieve the feelings of thousands of stranded OFWs and overseas Filipinos who are yearning to see their families in the provinces.
