Cebu to shorten quarantine time for returning overseas Filipinos

The Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). (DALE ISRAEL/INQUIRER VISAYAS)

CEBU CITY — Returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who arrive at the Mactan-Cebu airport may soon be able to spend a quarantine period of not more than five days as long as they are fully vaccinated.

There were no dates for implementing the new protocols, but Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia announced on Tuesday night that she would issue a new memorandum containing the new arrival protocols in the province.

“Vaccination is a personal choice, and it should be incentivized,” Garcia said in a press briefing.

Under the new protocol, returning ROFs, including overseas Filipino workers, will be swabbed upon arrival and later on placed under a quarantine facility or a hotel.

On the fifth day, those who were already fully vaccinated will again be swabbed. If they test negative for COVID-19, they will be released from the quarantine facility.

This will be two days earlier than the protocols issued by the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Last September 7, Governor Garcia met with top regional officials from the Department of Tourism, Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Hotel, Resort, and Restaurant Association of Cebu, and the Overseas Workers Welfare and Administration discussing the new protocols.

The BOQ will conduct a verification process for the documents to be presented by vaccinated individuals upon their arrival at the airport.

ROFs may present their Vaccination Card, Government Certification of Vaccination, or the BOQ-issued International Certification of Vaccination (ICV).

On the other hand, OFWs may present their Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO)-Verified Vaccination Card or Government Certification of Vaccination.