From Seaway Magazine
BREAKING: Negros Occ rejects seafarers onboard Malasakit Voyage
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has refused to accept 88 seafarers from Negros onboard the 2Go Malasakit Voyages scheduled on April 27 and 30, 2020 with the route Manila-Bacolod-Iloilo-Cagayan-Iloilo-Bacolof-Manila.
The Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) of Negros Occidental broke this bad news in a letter to Director Jose Roberto Nunez, chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) VI.
In the letter dated April 26, 2020, the provincial government enumerated its reasons for rejecting the seafarers from the island.
It says: “First, we have accommodated the arrival of 35 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last April 14. Despite that they have provided their Medical Certificate/Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) Certification, two of the OFWs found positive.
“Fortunately, we are able to have them isolated in our quarantine area. RDRRMC VI was able to issue WVRTF Resolution 12 stating that ‘said OFWs shall undergo RT PCR test prior to departure from their point of entry. Only those whose results are negative will be allowed to depart and accepted in Region VI.’
“(This is) the very reason why we only repatriate non-OFW,” says the letter signed by Negros Occidental PIMT Incident Commander Jonathan Lobaton on behalf of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.
The letter adds: “due to limited accommodation in our Provincial Quarantine Facility, we schedule the arrival of our repatriates, prioritizing the non-OFW. We currently have around 130 persons in our quarantine area manned 24/7 by our personnel thus the arrival of the 88 seafarers (OFWs) will hamper our operations.
“Such action is a violation of WVRTF Resolution 12: Mandatory COVID-19 testing of OFWs prior to transport to Western Visayas,” the letter explains.
Based on latest information gathered by Seaway, however, the 2Go Malasakit Voyage scheduled to depart today, April 27, 2020, will have over 100 seafarers from Negros island. They are expected to disembark at the port of Bacolod.
Moreover, aside from having completed the required 14-day quarantine, the seafarers are holders of “Authority to Travel” secured from the National Task Force against COVID-19.
In addition, they would undergo thorough screening and rapid testing protocols. Only those who passed the screening and rapid testing protocols would be allowed to go onboard the 2Go Malasakit Voyage.
Another important consideration, the earlier two OFWs that were found positive of COVID-19 were landbased workers from the Netherlands and Finland. Landbased workers, generally do not go through as rigid screening and quarantining as seabased workers.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, in an interview this morning over DZMM, appealed to local government units not to block the return of repatriated seafarers who have been given a clean bill of health by concerned agencies such as those passengers of Malasakit Voyages.
OWWA and MARINA, in coordination with manning agencies, launched the Malasakit Voyages to bring home to Visayas and Mindanao stranded seafarers from Manila.
- Eloi Calimosoa
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Topic: Negros Occidental Rejects Ship Boarded by OFWs (Read 611 times)