OWWA's 2021 budget short of P9.8B for quarantine facilities, COVID-19 test, food

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) needs additional P9.8  billion budget for 2021 to be able to continue shouldering the cost of RT-PCR test, quarantine facilities, and food of returning overseas Filipino workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

OWWA chief Hans Cacdac said Friday that this is due to the revised government protocol which requires the conduct of RT-PCR test on the sixth day of quarantine rather than upon arrival of the OFW for a more accurate detection since COVID-19 virus can take days to incubate.

From taking the RT-PCR test, the OFW will have to wait for the results in two days.

“Assuming na magpatuloy itong protocol na seven to nine days mula 1 to 3 days na inilagi sa [quarantine] hotel, P9.8 billion po ang kakailanganin natin. Kasi po ang assumption natin diyan ay at least 2,000 ang lalapag sa international airport araw-araw,” Cacdac said during the Laging Handa briefing.

(Assuming this protocol will continue and each OFW needs to stay in the quarantine hotel, we will need P9.8 billion. That is because we assume that at least 2,000 OFWs will be arriving every day.)

“Mga 60,000 [OFWs] po iyan sa isang buwan at sa walong buwan ay aabot ng 480,000, So kailangan po talaga ng supplemental funding natin P9.8 billion po ang kahilingan natin,” he added.

(That means having 60,000 OFWs in a month, a number that will reach 480,000 in eight months. That is why we really need that P9.8 billion budget.)

Likewise, Cacdac said that an OFW who already got a COVID-19 vaccine will still need to undergo quarantine and RT-PCR test.

“Kaya tayo ay nagsusumamo, nagmamakaawa tayo sa DBM at sa liderato ng Kongreso, sumulat po si Secretary [Silvestre] Bello sa kanila para mabigyan po tayo ng supplemental funding.  Kasi ang tantiya po natin, iyong 2021 natin budget from the General Appropriations Acts for food, transport accommodation ay mauubos po nitong Mayo at Hunyo,”  Cacdac pointed out.

(That is why we are pleading, appealing to the Department of Budget and Management and Congress’ leadership. Secretary Bello wrote them so we can be provided supplemental funding. As it is, our funding under the 2021 national budget will be run out by May or June).

Since the pandemic began a year ago, the government has been able to repatriate 492,000 OFWs.

As of March 26, there are 7,000 OFWs in quarantine in 135 hotels.

In the same briefing, Cacdac assured that President Rodrigo Duterte's order to resolve the delayed release of RT-PCR test of OFWs has already been addressed.

"There have been issues on RT-PCR machines of the Philippine Red Cross a week ago, but we have been able to resolve this and speed up the process since then. Thanks to Senator [Richard] Gordon, specimens are now brought to Port Area and other molecular labs in Visayas via our sweeper flights," he said.

"Secondly, the National Task Force also helped out by getting the specimens to government laboratories to accelerate the process," he added.—AOL, GMA News