OZAMIZ CITY, Misamis Occidental (PIA)—Misamis Occidental officials have finally agreed to allow the overseas Filipino workers from the province aboard 2Go Ship to disembark at Ozamiz City Port.
The ship, which left Manila at around 2 a.m. last April 27 and arrived in Cebu early morning of April 28, was ferrying passengers from Ozamiz, Iligan and Zamboanga.
Five seafarers who are residents of Ozamiz City, Sinacaban and Jimenez towns will be given a rapid test on COVID-19 by Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center (MHARS MC) at the holding area at the Ozamiz Port, and even if they tested negative for COVID-19, they will still undergo a 14-day quarantine at a designated or identified PGMO holding facility. During their stay there, they will also process their documents to be formally given a repatriation certificate to go home.
In his facebook post, Governor Philip Tan said “after consultation with the vice governor, provincial board members, provincial health officer, the Department of Health (DOH) and MHARS MC and Congressman Henry Oaminal, we will allow the passengers whose residences are from Misamis Occidental to disembark. We will send a medical officer who will conduct a health check and rapid test to all five passengers, check their documents and after clearance, we will send them directly to their LGU holding facilities.”
Tan wrote the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to follow provincial protocols and have proper coordination “next time to secure the lives of the people.”
The governor called the attention of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the DOH to the uncoordinated arrival of seafarers here and recommended that proper coordination and communication be observed next time.
Meanwhile, Mayor Sancho Fernando Oaminal assisted the returning OFWs in processing their documents and bringing them to the city’s designated isolation area.
Oaminal said, “We will take good care of them and attend to their needs until the end of their quarantine period. No family member or relative is allowed to visit them while on quarantine. We will, however, bar entry of passengers coming from other towns who will not be met by their respective LGUs.”
The said OFWs are seafarers who were displaced by the pandemic and were stranded in Manila amid the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). (SMRN/PIA10)
