Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 1) – The government is looking to accept more returning overseas Filipino workers as previous batches have already been assisted back to their hometowns, COVID-19 response chief implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. said.
“Dati po ni-limit natin sa 400-600 (per day). Sa ngayon, dahil ‘yung ating 24,000 na OFWs ay nakauwi na po, inaangat namin ito sa 1,000 to 1,500 a day kasi meron tayong 42,000 na OFW na ineexpect na darating ngayong June,” Galvez said in a Monday press briefing.
[Translation: Before, we limited 400-600 returnees per day. Now, since the 24,000 OFWs have gone home, we will raise the limit to 1,000-1,5000 a day since we expect 42,000 OFWs to fly home this June.]
The government limited the number of passengers aboard repatriation flights last month to manage the volume of people in quarantine facilities. All of them must be tested for COVID-19 and stay in quarantine facilities for 14 days until negative results are out.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reported that 24,028 OFWs who previously stayed in isolation facilities have returned to their provinces as of May 31, in compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s one-week ultimatum to bring them home.
Galvez also bared plans to open other international airports for these essential flights, particularly those in Clark, Pampanga and in Mactan, Cebu which will have testing centers nearby.
For local flights, the head of the national task force said he is in talks with the Department of Transportation as well as local government units to allay fears on reopening local travel.
“Ico-consult natin ang mga LGUs dahil ang nakikita natin, takot din talaga yung mga LGUs na magkaroon ng open travel dahil nga sa importation (of the virus) [We are consulting with LGUs because as we see it, they are also afraid of open travel because of the possible importation of the virus],” he said. Currently, inbound travel is restricted to OFWs and returning seafarers.
Inter-island travel between general community quarantine areas is currently limited to essential trips, with travel passes required when crossing to another province. Rules are more relaxed in parts of the country under modified GCQ.
READ: Quarantine rules revised for returning OFWs living in Metro Manila
