200 stranded OFWs from W. Visayas to arrive in Iloilo City Wednesday

ILOILO CITY—More than 200 stranded OFWs from Western Visayas are expected to arrive in Iloilo City on Wednesday morning amid complaints of local government officials over the lack of time to prepare for quarantine facilities.

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, Roberto Nuñez, chair of the Western Visayas Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19, said 234 OFWs were scheduled to depart Manila at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 27, on board a 2GO vessel bound for Iloilo and Bacolod cities.

The OFWs were tentatively set to arrive in Iloilo early Wednesday morning.

In a memorandum to governors and mayors of Western Visayas issued on Sunday, Nuñez, also chair of the Region Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, said 336 OFWs would be arriving in two trips including one on April 29 and another on April 30. These include 150 OFWs from Iloilo, 58 from Bacolod City, 44 from Negros Occidental, 29 from Antique, 28 from Aklan, 25 from Capiz, and 2 from Guimaras.

Responding to concerns of local chief executives on the lack of time to prepare their quarantine facilities, Nuñez said the OFWs would be housed in hotels in Iloilo City.

“We would like to reiterate that only OFWs who were tested negative and those who no symptoms of COVID-19 during the rapid test initiated and only those with complete documents were allowed to board the vessel,” he said.

The OFWs will undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival at their designated hotels.

Local government units in Panay in Iloilo have earlier raised concerns over the coming home of OFWs if they have not been tested and undergone quarantine before departing to Iloilo.

Three OFWs who arrived in Iloilo from Cebu on April 8 tested positive for the disease.

More than 50 Ilonggo OFWs are also waiting to return home to Iloilo from Cebu, some of whom have been stranded there for more than a month after returning to the country.