MANILA, Philippines — At least 22,192 hotel rooms are available to serve as quarantine facilities for returning Filipino migrant workers, President Duterte told Congress Monday.
In his 9th report to Congress on the use of his additional powers to address the COVID-19 crisis, Duterte said the rooms are part of the 44,871 rooms from 737 hotels nationwide screened and identified by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to serve as quarantine facilities for repatriated Filipinos.
“The DOT also reached out to 941 non-accredited accommodation establishments for their temporary operation as quarantine facilities for returning OFWs and have confirmed 6,516 rooms,” Duterte said in his report.
Last Week, National Task Force COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. warned that around 42,000 overseas Filipino who are set to be repatriated this month and in June might overwhelm the country’s quarantine facilities.
This came after several overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) complained of having to endure a longer stay in the quarantine facilities beyond the mandatory 14-day isolation period due to the delay in their COVID-19 test results.
This prompted Duterte to order the Department of Labor and Employment, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Department of Health to ensure that stranded OFWs will be released within a week.
The government converted massive convention centers and sports facilities to serve as quarantine facilities for OFWs and suspected COVID-19 patients.
It also tapped some private hotels and commissioned passenger ships to serve as floating quarantine facilities.
In his report, Duterte said that as of May 20, the Bureau of Quarantine is manning a total of 70 quarantine facilities, 47 are hotels or similar facilities, while 23 are cruise ships, catering to 11,109 repatriates.
There are 33,726 repatriates from 422 repatriate vessels, of whom number, 28,570 have completed their mandatory quarantine. Meanwhile, of the 12,655 land-based repatriates, 4,144 have completed their respective quarantine while the rest are still in quarantine.