The PNP will deploy policemen to augment Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel who have been securing Metro Manila hotels and other accommodation establishments which are being used as quarantine facilities for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Lt. Gen. Ephraim Dickson, who is the PNP deputy chief for operations and concurrent Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander, said the PCG requested the reinforcement “because they are having difficulty in securing and supervising the different hotels housing OFWs returning to the country.”
“Based on their (PCG) information or report to us, some of the OFWs have been violating minimum public health standards, like leaving (the hotels) without permission from the guards, some are going home. So, they asked for support, for more men to guard them (OFWs),” said Dickson.
“The presence of the police and PCG will be a deterrent factor to would-be violators of MPHS,” he said.
Of the 267 quarantine hotels for returning OFWs, Dickson said only 44 are “effectively guarded” by the PCG. He noted that there are only 275 PCG personnel assigned to secure the facilities.
Dickson said the policemen would, among others, conduct mobile patrols and police visits.
Dickson warned OFWs who would be caught violating health protocols will be charged with violation of RA 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, specifically Section 9 on the non-cooperation of persons and entities.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration said it is ready to send out more agents to the different international airports in the country in anticipation of increased arrivals in the coming months as the country slows reopens its borders in a bid to spur economic recovery.
BI Port Operations Division chief Carlos Capulong said they expect international flight operations to return to normal by the end of the year, especially amid the government’s aggressive vaccination program.
“While there are fewer international flights now due to the ban on the entry of travelers from seven countries, we anticipate a possible gradual increase in these flights in the next few months as the country slowly reopens its borders,” Capulong said, referring to the travel restrictions for travelers coming from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman and the United Arab Emirates until May 31.
The restrictions were imposed by the government amid the record-breaking COVID-19 surge in India, which is caused by its variant that is said to be more transmissible and more lethal. The Department of Health has reported that 12 cases caused by the Indian variant has been detected in the country.
Capulong said the BI already has plans for the deployment of immigration personnel not only at the Ninoy Aquino International Airports, the country’s premiere airport, but to other international airports to cope with the increase in arrivals in the coming months.
“We are anticipating new batches of immigration officers to be deployed to our airports to ensure we have the adequate personnel to cope with this anticipated increase in the volume of international passengers,” he said.
Data earlier provided by the BI showed a continuous increase in international arrivals in the country from 12. 1 million in 2016 to 17.063 million in 2019, or a year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in 2020, when travel restrictions were put in place not only by Philippine authorities but other countries as well to curb the spread of the deadly virus, the number of international arrivals dropped to a mere 3.5 million. — With Ashzel Hachero
