Through boosted coordination among concerned agencies and various Local Government Units (LGUs), a total of 46 returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who arrived in the Port of Cagayan de Oro on 30 April 2020 were successfully transported to their respective provinces and municipalities where they would be taking their 14-day mandatory quarantine relative to the prevailing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The personnel of PMO MO/C’s Port Police Division, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and PNP Maritime Group guided and facilitated the OFWs upon their disembarkation from 2Go vessel MV St. Leo the Great at 1:00 early morning. Footbaths were provided at the gang flank of the vessel. The passengers were subjected to body temperature scanning and other health protocols conducted by City Health Office and DOH.

Right after the health screening wherein there was no passenger found to be symptomatic, they were ferried to their respective destinations through the different transport units deployed by the concerned LGUs. The City LGU of Cagayan de Oro provided a bus to transport the OFWs who were mostly residing within Cagayan de Oro City. They were escorted by mobile patrol of Cagayan de Oro City Police Office en route to the boundaries of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental to ensure that the convoy will not stop nor drop by at any points in the city.

Last 25 April 2020, the first batch composed of 11 repatriated OFWs who arrived in CDO Port were likewise facilitated and assisted by PMO MO/C and concerned agencies and LGUs. Most of them were residents of Cagayan de Oro while others were from the Province of Lanao del Norte.

These efforts are in consonance with the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s establishment of “one-stop shop” in coordination with the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Office for Transportation Security (OTS), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) that aimed at facilitating the repatriated OFWs arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) towards their transport to identified quarantine facilities nationwide. — by IMR Lam