CEBU Governor Gwedolyn F. Garcia said she and members of the provincial board are still scheduled to meet with the Health secretary next week even after agreeing to abide by the national policy on quarantine period for returning overseas Filipinos.

In a video message released by the province’s information group on Tuesday, Ms. Garcia announced that arriving international passengers in Cebu will now go through the 10-day quarantine period in a certified hotel or facility.

At the same time, she said they are keeping the provincial government’s swab-upon-arrival policy, instead of on the 7th day as required under the national guidelines.

Ms. Garcia said the decision to concede is in deference to President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who announced Monday night in a televised talk that the national government will cover the quarantine costs of all arriving Filipinos from abroad, not just overseas workers.   

“Allow me to thank President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for recognizing the wisdom of my plea that we give human consideration to the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and ROFs (returning overseas Filipinos) who come home mostly not for leisure, but for the greater majority of them they come home for family emergencies,” she said.

This cost will be among the issues to be discussed in the June 28 meeting with Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.

“We shall await, hopefully, a win-win solution after this meeting between the provincial board and Secretary Duque and these technical advisers. For this is what, after all, we seek to find common ground in order to reach a solution that considers all factors,” the governor said.

Cebu’s insistence on applying its own protocols based on a local ordinance prompted the national government to order the diversion of international flights bound for Mactan Cebu International Airport to Manila from May 29 to June 12. When flights resumed on June 13, the provincial government maintained its own rules. — MSJ

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