CAGAYAN de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has called on the government to send some 133 stranded workers and students back to the city.
In a statement sent to the Gold Star Daily, Rodriguez said he has been in touch with over 133 people from Cagayan de Oro who found themselves stranded in Clark, Metro Manila, Laguna, and Iloilo as a result of quarantine measures put in place when the government responded to the Covid-19 crisis.
There are many others from various places in Mindanao, and Rodriguez said local governments should not prevent them from returning home.
Today, some 40 workers from abroad, mostly Cagayanons, are expected to arrive in the city through its “Malasakit Voyage Program.”
But Rodriguez said there are many other Cagayanons and people from other areas in Mindanao who have remained stranded in Luzon and Visayas.
He said most of the workers from abroad in his list arrived between March 13 and March 15.
“They have been stranded for more than 40 days,” said Rodriguez in a statement sent to the Gold Star Daily.
All the workers, he said, tested negative for Covid-19.
He said over 40 of the returning Cagayanon overseas workers have been sheltered in Clark and more than 60 others, also from this city, were stranded in Metro Manila.
Rodriguez said there are also 17 students from this city and more than 60 others from other parts of Mindanao who found themselves stuck in UP Los Baños in Laguna.
Sixteen more students from this city are stranded at the UP Visayas in Iloilo, according to Rodriguez.
Rodriguez called on the inter-agency task force against Covid-19 and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (Owwa) to bring the workers and students back to Mindanao.
He said the government should “organize sweeper flights or sea transport for returning overseas Filipino workers stranded in Metro Manila and Clark in Pampanga who are from Mindanao and the Visayas.”
“I hope the IATF and the Owwa have an evacuation plan to bring these returning OFWs and students to their respective provinces and cities in Mindanao and the Visayas. They are already running low on personal supplies. More importantly, they already miss their families badly,” he said.
Rodriguez said the stranded workers and students should also be given financial assistance.
“They are willing to go on a 14-day quarantine upon arrival to their respective communities. I urge the local government units to accept them, undertake their quarantine accommodations and monitor them,” he said.
Rodriguez thanked all agencies, government officials, and private citizens who are helping his stranded constituents from Cagayan de Oro and Mindanao.
He said he was particularly thankful to Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Vince Dizon “for taking care of all stranded OFWs in Clark.”
