CEBU, Philippines — A week after President Rodrigo Duterte announced he wants unused funds under Bayanihan 2 utilized to pay for the quarantine expenses of returning Filipinos, those who have arrived in the country via the Mactan Cebu International Airport are still paying for their quarantine hotels from their own pockets.
Returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) have to pay for quarantine as only Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) are covered by the subsidy from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
But no official order or memorandum has been issued by the national government since Duterte’s national address.
A councilor from Bogo City who has just arrived from the United States was surprised upon being told by the hotel upon check-in that they will have to shoulder the expenses for their 10-day quarantine.
The airline also did not inform them about it.
“So unsa diay tong gi-announce? Fake news to? I only booked for two days ahead of our travel (which was the only usual number of days in the hotel here while waiting for the swab test results). We were still in the U.S when it was announced nga ang gobyerno nay mubayad sa 10 days nga quarantine namo,” said Councilor Noel Seno.
Seno said there were more than 50 of them in the flight that landed on Friday, June 25, 2021 although he could not say how many were non-OFWs.
“Maypa wala sa gi-announce kung mao na. Gikan man nas President’s mouth,” Seno said.
Duterte’s announcement about using the Bayanihan 2 funds came after the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) disapproved the protocol of Cebu Province to allow OFWs and ROFs to proceed to their point of destination when they test negative for COVID-19 upon arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Under national IATF guidelines, OFWs and ROFs will have to undergo a 10-day quarantine at an accredited hotel upon arrival and another four days of quarantine at home. They will be tested on the seventh day.
The national IATF has been adamant about Cebu Province modifying protocols especially with the threat of the Delta variant, which is identified as the cause of resurgence of cases in other countries like India and Indonesia.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is set to meet with the national IATF tomorrow, Tuesday, to clarify protocols. Health Secretary Francisco Duque, National Task Force for COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez, and Sec. Carlo Nograles will also reportedly join the meeting.
Garcia herself thanked Duterte for deciding to use the Bayanihan 2 funds, as the decision of the province to allow OFWs and ROFs to proceed to home quarantine after testing negative at the airport was made precisely to help the returning Filipinos save on expenses.
HRRAC
The Hotel Restaurant and Hotel Association of Cebu (HRRAC) also received the same complaint from some ROFs.
HRRAC’s President Alfred Reyes said they have not received any memo from the national government on the use of the Bayanihan 2 funds just yet.
In the absence of such, hotels will continue to charge ROFs who undergo quarantine.
“Since last year, ang ROFs, personal account gyud na nila. Then ang OWWA, OFW ra gyud nang i-shoulder sa gobyerno. Kung akoy pangutan-on, we would go back to the original set-up... Mura gud nag ikaw, ni-bakasyon kas gawas, unya ang gobyerno maoy mu-shoulder sa expenses nimo? You went out of your own man,” Reyes said.
“Wala gyuy memo nga gipagawas gyud. If they insist, we would ask which government agency is going to should this,” Reyes added.
Not even local government units issued a memorandum on the matter.
“Wala puy LGU nga ni-issue ana nga sila’y mu-shoulder. Even ang Manila, ang ROFs may mubayad sa ilang stay,” Reyes said.
At the moment, there are 3,900 hotels rooms for mixed use in Cebu but Reyes could not disclose just yet how many are occupied.
OFWs
In a related development, Reyes said there are also hotels that have not been accommodating OFWs as they do not agree with the rate that OWWA has set.
“Challenge nato karon, naay mga hotel nga gi-status quo nila kay wa pa nagkasinabot sa presyo sa OWWA because of that star rating. For that star rating, there should also be another request for inspection. Dapat, pag una pa pud na giatiman nila,” Reyes said.
“They are some hotels that said it’s too low ang rate sa OWWA but these are items that only DOT and OWWA can fix. They are beyond HHRAC’s capabilities,” he added. — JMO (FREEMAN)