President Rodrigo Duterte ordered government agencies to do something about the late release of COVID-19 test results over more than 24,000 returning OFWs.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte ordered the Labor Department, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Health Department to quicly process the documents of OFWs and seafarers who are stuck in Metro Manila as they await for the delayed release of their COVID-19 test results and certification.
“Ang sabi niya, ‘Hindi katanggap-tanggap na naapakatagal ng proseso bago sila makauwi.’ So inaasahan natin na magkakaroon naman po ng implementasyon ang ating mga ahensya ng gobyerno,” he said in a phone interview with PTV-4.
[He said it is unacceptable that it’s taking them so long to get home. So we expect the government agencies to implement the President’s order.]
Duterte allowed the inter-agency body handling COVID-19 testing of returning overseas Filipino workers to use government funds and all possible modes of transportation to bring home the OFWs to their respective hometowns.
Some OFWs complained they have been stuck in quarantine facilities for more than two months because of the delayed release of testing results.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said agencies are targeting to send home the OFWs who have tested negative and completed their quarantine requirements within three days.
“Sinusundo na sila ngayon sa lahat ng mga hotels at cruise ships na naging temporary facility,” he said.
However, during an online hearing by the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs on May 22, officials admitted that there have been delays in the issuance of medical clearances. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also said the delays in the release of land-based OFWs lie with the Bureau of Quarantine, an agency under the DOH.
Vice President Leni Robredo has called for the faster certification of laboratories testing for COVID-19.
The government expects 44,000 overseas workers to come home this June, while 150,000 to 500,000 overseas workers are estimated to return to the Philippines for the rest of the year.
