IN PHOTOS: ‘Welcome home’ for 220 Cebuano repatriated seafarers

CEBU CITY, Philippines — After about a month of being stranded in Metro Manila, 220 repatriated seafarers finally arrived in Cebu on Tuesday dawn, April 28, 2020, through the mercy voyage of St. Michael the Archangel.

The voyage carried a total of 328 passengers from Manila who were heading to the Cebu City, Dumaguete City, Iligan, Ozamiz, and Zamboanga.

St. Michael, the Archangel, carried 220 repatriated seafarers in a mercy voyage from Metro Manila. The ship docked at Cebu City’s Pier 6 past 3 a.m. on April 28,2020. CDN Digital photo | Alven Marie Timtim

Louie Gutobat, who hails from Barangay Labangon in Cebu City, was among the first few to disembark from the ship that docked at Pier 6 of Cebu City past 3 a.m. this Tuesday.

Gutobat, 31, said this homecoming, however, feels something was “missing” as he was not able to complete his 9-month contract abroad.

Watch his interview here:

https://www.facebook.com/cdndigital/videos/230653471364325

Last April 3, Gutobat arrived in Manila from Miami, Florida, completing only three months of his contract in an international vessel after he was repatriated due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gutobat and the other repatriated seafarers completed 14 days of quarantine in Manila and were subjected to rapid testing for COVID-19 prior to their departure for Cebu.

They, however, will  still undergo another 14 days of quarantine here in Cebu City as part of the protocols for the returning OFWs.

A Welcome Home banner greeted the 220 repatriated OFWs who arrived in Cebu City on Tuesday dawn. CDN Digital photo | Alven Marie Timtim

The return of the OFWs to their provinces was facilitated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

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

Read: Quarantine period for repatriated Cebuano OFWs may reach 28 days

Upon their arrival in Cebu City, the OFWs were ferried by Cebu City government to hotels where they will be quarantined for the next 14 days.

The 220 repatriated Cebuano OFWs started disembarking the ship past 4 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28. CDN Digital photo | Alven Marie Timtim

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said that within the quarantine period, they will determine who among the repatriated OFWs will be returning to their hometowns in the province.

Although these OFWs would have had completed 14 days of quarantine in Cebu City and the quarantine period they spent in Metro Manila, Garcia said the current policies in the town may still compel the OFWs to undergo another mandatory 14-day period of quarantine.

The towns in the province has recently been aggressive in imposing the 14-day quarantine to all persons going into their jurisdiction especially those that come from Cebu City, which is tagged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Cebu.

Aside from the 220 Cebuano seafarers, 47 seafarers who were bound for Bohol also disembarked the St. Michael Archangel and were transferred to another vessel that would ferry them to the island province at noon on Tuesday. /bmjo