Arriving passengers at the Mactan Cebu International Airport. | Photo courtesy of MCIAA
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Third District Board Member, lawyer John Ismael Jimbo Borgonia said they would love to hear directly from the medical experts to be sent here by the national government on their scientific basis concerning the protocols on arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
Borgonia, who authored the ordinance which strengthens Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order No. 17 mandating the testing of ROFs and OFWs upon arrival, made the statement on Tuesday, June 15, following the governor’s invitation to IATF consultants to present their data before the Provincial Board.
“We’d love to hear sa atong mga experts gikan sa Manila para maka-present pod sila sa ilahang facts and data sa hearing para we will get it straight from them. Then after that, maybe we can revisit the ordinance,” he said.
During the hearing, Borgonia said they can also ask the IATF experts directly so as to clarify the statistics regarding the transmission rate of ROFs and OFWs who arrived in the province.
“Ang atoa lang gud nga maklaro nato sa data/statistics nila nga kaning mga OFWS, pila man diay ang transmission rate ani nila. Pila man kabuok OFW nga nanguli na nakatakod sa pag-uli nila. Kay sa atong data, less than 1 percent ang mga OFW nga gi-swab upon arrival, unya on the seventh day sila gi-swab nga na-positive sila,” he said.
Borgonia further said that aside from that, they can also question the said experts as to why they count the arrival of the ROFs and OFWs as their first day when some of them might be infected earlier.
“Nganong mo-count man ta sa tanan nga upon arrival, first day na nila. What if ika-seventh day na nila? Nganong gi-day 1 man guyd nato upon arrival? Unya uniform diay na sila nga assuming nga ana infected pagbiya nila sa ilahang country of origin? Mao na atoa, we want to get straight answers gikan sa ilahang scientific basis,” he said.
Borgonia also said that the experts need to shed light as to why the ROFWs and OFWs be feared especially those who are fully vaccinated.
He said the PB will be passing a resolution on Monday, June 21, hoping that the IATF experts will arrive and present their data on June 28 during its regular session. /rcg