More than 200 OFWs set to arrive in Cebu on April 28

The first batch of repatriated OFWs set to return to their respective hometowns in Visayas and Mindanao undergo rapid testing of COVID-19 before boarding the ship that will ferry them there. | Photos courtesy of MARINA

CEBU CITY, Philippines — More than 200 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), most of whom are seafarers stranded in Metro Manila, are set to arrive in Cebu on Tuesday, April 28. That is according to authorities, who confirmed the report.

Information from the Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG – 7) showed that a mercy voyage is being implemented to send repatriated seafarers to their respective hometowns after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) left them stranded in Manila.

A total of 328 OFWs are now on board a 2GO passenger ship, St. Michael Archangel, and will make stops in the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao.

Of these figures, 267 are set to disembark in Pier 6 of Cebu City at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28, and of this number, 47 individuals are bound for Bohol.

The PCG – 7 said those headed for Bohol would be immediately transported to Pier 1 where another sea vessel would ferry them to the island-province.

After making a stop in Cebu City, the ship will proceed to Dumaguete, Ozamiz, Iligan, and Zamboanga respectively to unload the remaining passengers.

The ship reportedly departed from Manila around 10 a.m. on Monday, April 27, 2020.

Marlou Salazar, Office of Civil Defense (OCD-7) Regional Director, was quoted in a press release from the Philippine Information Agency in Central Visayas (PIA- 7) that a total of three batches of repatriated OFWs were set to arrive in the region.

Salazar, who also co-chairs the Inter-Agency Task Group on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases – Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 7 (IATG-MEID-RDRRMC 7), said the OFWs have been given clearance from the national government to proceed in traveling, and that preparation were now underway for their arrival.

Quarantine, Protocols

In a separate statement, the central office of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) said all passengers were subjected to rapid COVID-19 testing shortly before boarding the ship that would ferry them back to their hometowns in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The OFWs, who are expected to arrive in Cebu on Tuesday, are the first of the three batches.

The PCG – 7 said all of them would have to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed by local governments here.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Region 7 (OWWA-7), for their part, had already coordinated with the local government units (LGUs) where the repatriated seafarers would be returning.

The OWWA-7 has also arranged the accommodations of the OFWs in their respective provinces in the region for the duration of their quarantine period.

They said that the passengers would be transported immediately either to hotels or designated quarantine centers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) was also quoted in PIA-7’s press release that they would also conduct health protocols upon the repatriated workers.

These include decontamination of their luggage, thermal scanning, and physical examination.

They will go through the screening process which involves thermal scanning, physical exam, and download of the WeTrace app, among others, said Dr. Shelbay Blanco, Medical Officer III of DOH-7.

As for testing, Blanco said the official results of their tests done in Manila prior to their departure “would be our basis whether we would defer testing on them or not.”

The DOH – 7 also said that shortly before the OFWs boarded the ship to take them back to Central Visayas and Mindanao, they already completed the 14-day quarantine when they were staying in Metro Manila. /dbs