Gov’t to form special team for OFW repatriation
THE government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will establish a special unit for the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. In a briefing Tuesday, IATF-EID Spokesperson Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said the Sub-Task Unit for the Repatriation of OFWs will “facilitate the quarantine requirement of all repatriated OFWs, whether sea-based or land-based.” The unit will be headed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Displaced OFWs will receive P10,000 each through the Department of Labor and Employment’s DoLE-AKAP assistance. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which will be part of the special unit, repatriated over a thousand more OFWs, bringing the total number to over 14,000 as of Tuesday. DFA reported that 301 seafarers from the United States arrived on Tuesday, following the repatriation of six land-based OFWs from Doha, Qatar and 299 seafarers from three cruise ships on Monday. The return of these latest batches of Filipinos was facilitated by the Philippine Embassies in Doha, Brasilia and Washington DC, and local manning agencies MSC Cruises, CF Sharp, and United Philippine Lines. Meanwhile, the DFA reported that as of April 13, there were 660 confirmed COVID-19 patients among overseas Filipinos, including 384 under treatment, 192 who have recovered, while 84 died. — Gillian M. Cortez and Charmaine A. Tadalan
Senators call for ease, expansion of cash aid distribution
SENATORS on Tuesday proposed to relax rules that hamper the distribution of cash assistance and the expansion of targeted beneficiaries to hasten the delivery of the emergency subsidy program for low income households. Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said local government units (LGUs) may opt to “bend” or even do away with restrictions in granting the P5,000–8,000 monthly subsidy to those affected by the disruptions arising from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. “‘Yung mga rules, medyo bend ng kaunti. Luwagan ninyo ng kaunti. Kung pwede nga, ibato na sa bintana ‘yan (The rules, you can bend them a bit, ease them. If possible, just throw them out the window),” Mr. Sotto said over DzMM. He also suggested that LGUs should first tap their own budget to deliver the subsidy while waiting for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to download funds. Senator Ralph G. Recto, for his part, recommended that the government expand the list of beneficiaries. “My recommendation is to expand the list of families to be given subsidy. If all will be given then it will be faster,” he said in a phone message. In its third weekly report to Congress, the Palace said that LGUs may submit additional family beneficiaries to the DSWD for validation. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
Gov’t medical frontliners get higher GSIS insurance
THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has increased the insurance of public health frontliners by an additional P500,000, which covers death due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and accidental death. “GSIS has increased the life insurance of our medical frontliners. Today, a GSIS medical frontliner has a life insurance of P300,000-P500,000. We increased it by an additional P500,000,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet said in his presentation during the House of Representatives virtual hearing on Tuesday. The insurance is effective from March 1 to December 31, 2020. “This is the first time the GSIS is doing this, in recognition of the heroic acts our frontliners are doing for our country and our people,” Mr. Macasaet said. — Genshen L. Espedido
Makabayan bloc asks SC to order release of vulnerable inmates
THE Makabayan bloc in Congress asked the Supreme Court (SC) to order the release of inmates who are vulnerable to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The petition came after 23 prisoners also asked to be granted temporary release through bail on humanitarian grounds during the community quarantine arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. They are prisoners who are elderly, sick, and pregnant. “The country’s congested prison and detention facilities are undoubtedly a hotbed for infection, amplification, and spread of infectious diseases, especially of his novel virus that has a mutation for increased transmissibility,” Makabayan’s letter addressed to Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta read. “In this extraordinary time, we appeal to this Honorable Court to exercise its extraordinary powers and order the release, en masse, of vulnerable persons deprived of liberties in the different detention and jail facilities all over the country,” they added. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
Schools using August–July calendar may extend semester by a month
UNIVERSITIES and colleges using the August–July calendar may extend the semester for one month after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has been lifted, based on the latest advisory from the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). For institutions using the June–May academic calendar, they may continue the current semester until April 30 through flexible learning options. CHED, in its April 13 advisory, has extended the suspension of classes in all levels and school activities for the entire Luzon until April 30, in line with the extension of the ECQ. Class suspension in areas outside Luzon will be determined by the local government according to the level of risks posed by the coronavirus disease. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
