Who to follow?

The Cebu-bound international flights have now resumed at the MCIA. I would suppose that the MCIA officials are now in a quandary on which protocols to follow and implement

Tug-of-war is a popular parlor game in a big family or group in an outdoor setting. Two groups hold one end of the rope and the mighty and more powerful group who can pull the group to their side wins. The situation now between the Provine of Cebu and the IATF is like a tug-of-war match. Malacañang issued an order for the local government units (LGUs) to follow the health protocols issued by the IATF on returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIAA), while the Province of Cebu insisted on implementing what it calls an “innovative” health protocol.

In the IATF’s health protocols, the arriving ROFs or OFWs will be quarantined in accredited hotels and they will be swab-tested for Covid-19 only on the seventh day and if found negative they can leave and go home. Under Gov. Gwen Garcia’s EO 17, now a law per Provincial Board Ordinance 2021-04, swab-testing is done upon arrival of the ROFs or OFWs, and if found positive they would be quarantined. If negative, they can go home right away. However, they would still be swab-tested on the seventh day at their respective place.

To recall, Governor Garcia went to Malacañang to see and discuss with President Duterte her EO 17, now PB Ordinance 2021-04, which she calls an innovation to the IATF protocols as it is less burdensome, especially for the ROFs since they don’t have to stay in a hotel for 10 days while waiting for the swab test result. The hotel stay of the OFWs is shouldered by the government through Owwa.

President Duterte referred Garcia’s EO 17 to Health Secretary Duque for critique. But even before the President could issue the order on the issue, a week later Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire issued a statement that the IATF protocols implemented nationwide for OFWs and ROFs should be followed. Consequently, the rerouting of Cebu-bound international flights was extended from June 6 to June 12.

The Cebu-bound international flights have now resumed at the MCIA. I would suppose that the MCIA officials are now in a quandary on which protocols to follow and implement. In my column last week, I raised the possibility that the MCIA officials could be sanctioned by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) if they implement the PB ordinance at the airport, or reroute again to NAIA the Cebu-bound international flights. And if the MCIA officials won’t comply with the PB ordinance, the Provincial Government could also go after them since an ordinance is a law.

The present situation at the MCIA shows two health protocols at loggerheads, although not actually contradictory, but nobody appears to be a winner. On the other hand, the ROFs appear to be the losers since they have to empty their pockets for their 10-day stay in the hotel if the IATF health protocols were to be followed even if the representatives from the different congressional districts of Cebu and some municipal councils have expressed their full support for PB Ordinance 2021-04.

So, why don’t Capitol and Malacañang come up with a win-win solution? Do the swab-testing on arriving ROFs and OFWs and let them stay at the accredited hotels for three days while waiting for the result, which in a way helps the hotel industry. Why wrangle over a very petty issue?