Capitol to bring home OFWs stranded in Cebu

THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental is now coordinating with all concerned agencies for the return into the province of additional overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Cebu.

This was revealed Monday, May 4, Provincial Disaster Management Program head Zeaphard Caelian as he assured that the province is doing efforts to facilitate the return of stranded Negrenses and OFWs.

Caelian said that Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has already agreed for the rescue of the OFWs provided that they should submit in advance the results of RT-PCR to the Incident Management Team.

"We are now coordinating with the OWWA Region-7 for the return of the OFWs who are already done with the RT-PCR with results," Caelian said.

The OFWs will return via Tabuelan and Escalante ports.

Meanwhile, Caelian confirmed that 26 OFWs who returned to the province on March 28 have already transferred to a hotel in Bacolod as quarantine area for the 14-day mandatory quarantine.

Caelian said the transfer was done Monday after the agreement was inked between Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the province and the hotel.

"Slowly but surely. That's what we did and Iloilo will follow what we did after some OFWs in their province were not provided with food and other necessities after their transfer to the hotel," Caelian said.

As of yesterday, Negros Occidental has 845 persons under monitoring of which, 76 are under quarantine at the Provincial healing center in E.B. Magalona and 82 at Mabukal Resort in Murcia. The rest are in different towns and cities in the province, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Heslth Officer said.

As to suspect cases, Tumimbang said the province has 56 as of Monday.