Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said while he supports the proposal to require returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing, the government must ensure they are made “as comfortable as possible.”
In an interview with radio station RMN Davao, Cayetano said the Department of Health’s (DOH) proposal to the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force to require returning OFWs to undergo a COVID-19 testing six to seven days after their arrival is a reasonable proposal but may be viewed as an inconvenience.
“Ang ma-aadvise ko lang, make it as comfortable as possible para sa mga OFWs,” Cayetano said.
(What I can advise is to make it as comfortable as possible for our OFWs.)
He said the government must listen to experts and follow their advice if necessary.
“Gusto natin at utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo na protektahan talaga at tulungan ang mga OFW makauwi, pero siguro ‘yung mga OFW, ayaw naman nila magkasakit ‘yung mga pamilya nila,” Cayetano said.
(We want to protect our OFWs and help them come home, and that is also the President’s order, but the OFWs also don’t want their families to get sick.)
“‘Yung testing, hassle man pakinggan ay proteksyon din sa ating lahat,” he added.
(The testing may be a hassle but if is for the protection of all.)
Cayetano said the different agencies must work together to provided the facilities that would be needed in implementing the proposal, citing the Department of Tourism and the Department of Labor and Employment as examples.