The Athletes’ Village in New Clark City in Tarlac province is being readied as a quarantine zone for returning Filipinos from China. (Photo by Maria Adelaida Calayag)
TARLAC CITY — Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan of Capas town in Tarlac province has asked President Duterte and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to reconsider its plan to use the Athletes’ Village at the New Clark City (NCC) as a quarantine zone for Filipinos returning from China.
In a statement on Friday, Catacutan said although he is in favor of the repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from China’s City of Wuhan in Hubei province, he felt “perturbed” that the Department of Health failed to consult the local government of Capas in the last-minute decision.
Catacutan asked Mr. Duterte and Duque to consider another place as an isolation area for the returning OFWs from Wuhan City, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak in December.
The NCC’s Athletes’ Village was used during the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The mayor issued the statement despite acknowledging that the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has full jurisdiction over NCC.
Duque on Thursday said the Athletes’ Village was offered by the BCDA as an isolation area for Persons under Monitoring amid the nCoV threat in the country./lzb