LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, May 31 (PIA) - - The provincial government is assisting returning Overseas Filipino Workers and locally stranded individuals through the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Governor Melchor Diclas said the EOC recorded to date a total of 140 OFWs and 131 LSIs who were assisted, and preparations are ongoing with the expected influx of returning residents in the coming month.
OFWs assisted were mostly seafarers, domestic helpers, teachers, and factory workers.
Diclas said for those LSIs who register online,they contact them and the EOC communicate and coordinate with them on how they can return back from the province to their respective municipalities in coordination with the concerned municipal government.
For the returning OFWs, they need to have complete papers such as certification from the Bureau of Quarantine and document indicating results of negative COVID-19 test from the Department of Health.
Diclas said the provincial government is preparing for the influx of OFWs and LSIs. There are about 40,000 OFWs expected to return to the province, he added.
“We will be preparing for them in case there will be influx of OFWs coming as we will be expecting more of them. We will prepare for them. They are our people and we have to get them,” Diclas said.
In case they need to be quarantined at the local level, they can be accommodated at the provincial isolation facilities located in Wangal to cater to OFWs and LSIs including spillover from the Benguet General Hospital according to Diclas. There are also isolation facilities established in some municipalities as they had been advised during Inter-agency Task Force meetings if there is a need, he added.
Returning OFWs from the province are currently being triaged and accommodated for quarantine at the Baguio Teachers’ Camp.
The provincial government does its own rapid test while the PCR test can be accommodated at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.
The primary focus of the provincial government for now is to assist OFWs and LSIs in returning back to their residences, said Diclas. Livelihood assistance for OFWs would follow suit for those who opt to stay. (JDP/SCA-PIA CAR, Benguet)
The Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility or isolation facility in Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet is ready to cater to returning OFWs and LSIs including spillover from the Benguet General Hospital. (photo courtesy of Governor's Office - Benguet)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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