OvER 6K FiliPiNO ExPAtS StuCK At MANilA hOtElS
— More than 6,000 Filipino expats from around the world are now stuck at Manila hotels over delays in Covid-19 testing — and among them were those who recently flew home from the UAE.
Nemar Galagate, a waiter in Dubai, travelled with his pregnant wife on October 15 — not knowing that they would be stranded at a hotel. “I am worried that she may have to deliver here in our room,” he told Khaleej Times.
They cannot leave as a negative test result is required before they are allowed to be with their families.
The mandatory Covid-19 screening for returning Filipino expats used to take only one to two days. Now, many have no idea when they are going to get the results.
The long wait started since the Philippine Red Cross (PRC)
stopped conducting the tests last week because the government health insurer PhilHealth failed to pay Php930 million (Dh70.37 million) in bills.
Without the PRC’s service, the testing procedures turned manual for the thousands of expats arriving in Manila every day.
dubai — Filipino expats who flew home from the UAE are among the thousands who are now stuck at Manila hotels because of delays in Covid-19 testing. Many have no idea when they are going to get the results, which they require to go home to their families.
“My pregnant wife and I have been here in the hotel for nearly a week now. I am worried that she may have to deliver our baby in our hotel room, though there are nurses and midwives stationed here,” said Nemar Galagate, a waiter who flew from Dubai to Manila on October 15.
Results of the governmentfunded Covid-19 tests for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) used to be released in one to two days. But that was when the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) was conducting the screenings for the government.
Since October 15, the PRC has stopped processing swabs because the embattled government health insurer, PhilHealth, failed to pay Php930 million (Dh70.37 million) in bills.
Nemar and his wife Zuena were among the over 6,000 OFWs who are currently stranded at hotels serving as quarantine facilities in Manila, according to the latest figure revealed by Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Wednesday.
“Before, we succeeded in bringing home OFWs (to provinces) at the rate of 1,000 to 3,000 a day, now we are talking about a maximum of 300 a day; so you can just imagine how many OFWs are stranded in all the hotels in Metro Manila,” Bello said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday.
Nemar and his wife, for example, still have to fly home to their province in Iloilo. “We are yet to find an ob-gyn for my wife in the province and she’s already 33 weeks pregnant. We really hope we can go home soon,” said the expat from Dubai.
My pregnant wife and I have been here in the hotel for nearly a week now. I am worried that she may have to deliver our baby here.” Nemar Galagate
Expat
Before, we succeeded in bringing home OFWs (to provinces) at the rate of 1,000 to 3,000 a day, now we are talking about a maximum of 300.” Silvestre Bello III Philippine Labour Secretary
What happens to expats who flew home for an emergency? There are some who had to come home because someone died in the family.” Jaime Panopio Jr
Expat
Manual process
Without the PRC’s service and automated system, screening procedures turned manual. Over
a hundred Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) frontliners have to manually encode the details for the thousands of expats who arrive at the airport every day, according to a report from the Philippine government’s news agency. They also had to visit several government laboratories in a day to hand over the collected swab samples.
On the first day without the PRC’s help — it took the PCG around 24 hours to encode 30 per cent of 2,833 swab samples collected from OFWs.
‘Gaps’ in communication
Jaime Panopio Jr, a chief accountant who returned home from Dubai, said he couldn’t help but worry about other expats who flew home on emergency. “There are some who had to come home because someone died in the family. Others are here only on a twoweek vacation.
“I came home for good so I consider myself in a better situation somehow,” he said.
Panopio, 40, arrived in Manila on a Cebu Pacific Flight on October 16. He was able to check out of quarantine on Wednesday after dialling the Bureau of Quarantine’s number for “over a hundred times”.
He said his experience showed gaps in communication and coordination. “Imagine, my test was already done but I didn’t receive any update. I wouldn’t be able to get it if I wasn’t lucky enough to get in touch with the bureau,” he told