Bohol welcomes 1st sweeper flight

with 127 repatriated OFWs

TAGBILARAN CITY, May 27 (PIA) -- After a long wait, 127 repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Bohol who have been stranded in Manila due to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) arrived at the Bohol Panglao International Airport (BPIA) on May 26, 2020. 

They arrived at 7:30 p.m. at the BPIA from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) onboard a commercial plane which was the first sweeper flight to Bohol.

After they disembarked from the plane, they were asked to register for profiling.

From the airport, two vehicles (coaster and bus) were assigned to ferry the returning Boholanos to the local quarantine facility, where they will stay and be regularly monitored until they are issued a clearance before being allowed to be with their family and friends.

The said sweeper flight was through the coordination of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Gov. Arthur Yap in a Facebook post said that DILG Sec. Eduardo Año has given him the assurance that all the OFWs tested negative in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and they may be sent for another 14-day quarantine period if needed.

“Let us pray for our returning Bol-anons and treat them with compassion and warmth as they come home. Let us pray for all OFWs in these times,” Yap urged the Boholanos. 

Meanwhile, OWWA has informed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) that another 117 OFWs who are now in Cebu will be transported to Bohol on May 27.

The province of Bohol has already welcomed more than 300 Boholanos who returned from abroad, Metro Manila, and Cebu after being stranded since the province was placed under ECQ and GCQ.

Last Monday, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his call for local government units to accept OFWs returning to their homes, saying that only the national government could impose travel restrictions.

He warned local officials that they could face criminal charges for refusing to accept OFWs after their mandatory, facility-based 14-day mandatory quarantine. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)

DILG OFW-Desk Officers, with personnel from the Bohol Employment and Placement Office, assist in the profiling of the 127 Bol-anon OFWs who arrived at Bohol Panglao International Airport at 7:30 p.m. on May 26, 2020. (Photo from DILG R7 Bohol Province FB)