By Fernan Angeles
LOCAL chief executives from Iloilo and Negros Occidental provinces would rather face administrative charges rather than put their place at risk of being contaminated from viruses which could come from elsewhere outside their locality.
The mayors stood firm and opposed the latest guidelines of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) exempting returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) from retesting and undergoing mandatory quarantine upon arrival at their home provinces and towns.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he and the 31 mayors of the province decided to continue testing and isolating ROFs despite the task force’s order.
“Subjecting them to tests in Manila will be a waste of effort, time and valuable resources as we have proven through experience that those who tested negative in Manila may be infected in transit to the provinces,” he said.
The governor said the ROFs should be swabbed in Negros Occidental and quarantined at the local government unit.
San Roque, Iloilo Mayor Trixie Fernandez said that they are not complying with the guidelines of the NTF regarding ROFs — “We do not agree with the guidelines. All our efforts, resources, sacrifices [to manage the COVID-19 pandemic] will be put to waste,” said Fernandez who is also the president of the Iloilo chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.
She said they were drafting a resolution to formally oppose the guidelines on the ROFs.
“We hope the national task force sees the consequence of this decision,” she said.
Under the guidelines dated Aug. 19, ROFs who have tested negative in a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR) and have undergone 14-day quarantine in Manila will not be re-tested and undergo quarantine upon arrival in their home provinces.
However, Fernandez cited importance of retesting and the 14-day quarantine for ROFs and other returnees, to ensure that no infected person will be going home to their families and communities.
“We already had several ROFs who tested negative in Manila but turned out to be positive when they were retested here. We are daily facing the problem of a rising number of cases,” she said.
Fernandez said providing quarantine facilities to ROFs for 14 days, in itself, is a burden for LGUs but they were willing live with it to ensure the public safety.
Medical community and hospital association in Capiz have also appealed for the suspension of transport of returnees to avoid the local health-care system from getting overwhelmed by the rising COVID-19 cases. They are also appealing for more medical personnel and equipment, personal protective equipment, and field hospital tents.
The same sentiment has been ventilated by LGUs in Western Visayas who have been requesting the suspension of the transport of ROFs and other returnees to allow health personnel to rest and prepare isolation facilities.
The Department of Health in Western Visayas reported 4,684 COVID-19 cases in the region as of Aug. 31. These include 76 deaths and 2,301 active cases.
Out of the total number of cases, 1,569 involved ROFs, stranded persons and authorized persons outside of residence.