(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte directed local government units to allow the entry of returning overseas Filipino workers who had already tested negative for COVID-19, including those who had completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Duterte, in his late night virtual presser on Monday, May 4, said that the national government would be forced to step in if LGUs would continue to deny entry to OFWs whose residences are in their areas of jurisdiction.
“Magkakaroon ho tayo ng problema if you resist, because then as a worker of government, it falls upon my shoulder to see to it that everything is done fair,” he said.
“The problem now is itong mga Pilipinong pabalik hindi tinatanggap ng local governments,” he said.
President Duterte said that if the OFWs already have the required certification from the Department of Health that they are already negative for COVID-19, the local government units are duty-bound to accept the OFWs.
“Well, it has to be the certification of the Department of Health. If the Department of Health, your department Secretary (Francisco) Duque III, would certify that she has undergone the test not only against the presence of antibodies but the virus itself that she is virus-free, then we have to make arrangement that they can go home,” he said.
Duterte said that the national government itself would find a way, and would bring the OFWs to their provinces or municipalities to make sure that they would be able to go home.
“Maghanap tayo ng paraan. We’ll just — ihatid talaga natin ito sila doon kasi … we have a stalemate here. What do we do with people waiting tapos okay naman sila?” he said.
(Eagle News Service)
