OFW mom begs for shorter quarantine after teenage daughter's sudden death

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) is pleading for a shorter quarantine period so that she can attend the wake and funeral of her daughter, who died last week.

According to Cedric Castillo's report on "24 Oras," Grade 10 student Cherry Mae Saranza was brought to a hospital after her relatives found her looking pale and unable to speak.

A CT scan revealed clumps of blood forming in her brain. She passed away on July 7, just before her junior high school moving up-rites.

Cherry's mom, Rosamil, found it difficult to book flights from the United Arab Emirates, and did not arrive in time to be with her daughter at the end.

Rosamil could not hold back her tears as she recounted that her final moments with her daughter were only through a video call.

"Hindi mo man lang mahawakan, sa camera mo lang makikita. Hanggang sa tuluyan bumigay na. Kinakausap ko lang: 'Antayin mo lang si Mama, lakasan mo lang anak,'" she said.

[I could not even hold her. I could only see her through the camera. Until she passed away. I was just telling her, 'Wait for Mama, please just stay strong.]

Finally in Tanza, Cavite, Rosamil is only on the third day of the strict 14-day isolation protocol of the national government.

She is asking the national government to allow her a shorter stay at the quarantine center so that she can finally attend her daughter's wake.

"Nagmamakaawa po sa inyo sa kahulihulihang pagkakataon, pagbigyan niyo na makasama ko ng saglit ang anak ko," Rosamil said.

[I am begging you to allow me to see my daughter just for a short while, for the last time.]

"'Yun ang kahilingan na makita ang anak ko. Nandito na ako sa bansa natin, konti na lang makasama ko ang anak ko," she added.

[I just want to see her. I am already here in the Philippines, just a few miles away. Jst a little bit more and I can be with my daughter.]

According to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), only the Department of Health may decide whether to shorten the quarantine period of returning Filipinos.

Malacañang has imposed restrictions on inbound travelers from several countries, including the UAE, to prevent the entry of the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant, which has fueled the surge of COVID-19 cases in other Southeast Asian countries. 

This travel ban was extended until the end of July. — Consuelo Marquez/BM, GMA News