Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia | Photo Courtesy of Capitol PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Capitol on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, confirmed to members of the media that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will be virtually attending another Congressional hearing.
This time, the governor will be attending a hearing of the House of Representatives, whose Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs is set to discuss issues surrounding the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The hearing is set this Thursday, June 17.
A copy of the letter, signed by lawyer Christopher Lomibao on behalf of Committee Chairperson and Representative Raymond Democrito Mendoza of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), was furnished to the media on Wednesday.
The committee invited Garcia as one of their resource persons as they will be discussing several concerns ‘affecting the rights and welfare of OFWs’.
In particular, they will be discussing the quarantine procedures for returning OFWs between the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) and those of Cebu province.
Cebu is implementing a Swab-Upon-Arrival policy which sways away from those of the IATF.
Other issues to be raised during the House’s hearing included the ‘continuing update on the situation of OFWs affected by COVID-19, the new classification of OFWs in the vaccination priority list in the country, difficulties in the online registration for COVID-19 testing and vaccination of OFWs, and a proposed act on fair and ethical recruitment of OFWs’.
Just recently, Garcia attended virtually the ‘hybrid Senate hearing’ that tackled the national government’s COVID-19 vaccination program as well as the quarantine protocols for OFWs and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
/bmjo
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