Senator urges DOH to look into 'filthy' quarantine hotel for OFWs

The Department of Health should ensure that the quarantine facilities designated for where returning overseas Filipino workers are in good condition, according to Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday.

Hontiveros made the remark citing a report indicating that some OFWs are complaining of the "filthy and unhygienic" situation in a quarantine hotel in Novaliches, Quezon City.

"It is unacceptable that our OFWs in this time of crisis are forced to suffer these unhealthy, unhygienic and undignified conditions, and government should act swiftly and decisively to solve this problem," Hontiveros said in a statement.

She pointed out that the Bureau of Quarantine, under the DOH, is mandated to clear and oversee the hotels being used as quarantine facilities for the returning overseas workers.

"Huwag naman sana nating hayaan na magkasakit pa ang ating mga manggagawa dahil sa kawalan ng kalinisan ng kanilang tinutuluyan," she added.

The senator said she already sent food packages and hygiene kits for the OFWs in the said hotel as initial assistance.

Three hotels in Quezon City are being used as isolation facilities by close to 1,000 returning Filipino migrant workers.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 response, said some 70,000 to 100,000 OFWs are expected to return to the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. —Dona Magsino/LBG, GMA News