CEBU - Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said she is not against the protocols set by the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on how to handle the arrival of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROF).
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| Gov. Gwen Garcia (Tonee Despojo) |
This, after she received information from Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. that two Cabinet officials reportedly plan to file legal action against her for alleged “insubordination” because of her refusal to suspend the Province’s policy on OFWs and ROFs to give way to Resolution 114 issued by the IATF.
Velasco is also the President League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP).
“I am not defiant. I'm just trying to look for the
best possible way that we may implement policies that will not further burden
our people,” Garcia said, saying
Velasco sent her a text message that Interior Secretary Eduardo Año informed him that Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque are taking legal action against her.
“... but he (Año) said IATF is firm that reso 114 should be strictly complied. They are worried about transmission of variants. He said Sec Harry and Meynard Guevarra are considering legal action against you,” Garcia said, quoting Velasco’s text message to her.
But Garcia does not believe Roque will be filing a case against her. “I know Secretary Roque. He has a very sharp legal mind and he knows his law. So, I doubt if in fact he is planning to institute legal action. . . but this is the claim of Secretary Año to Governor Presby Velasco,” she said.
Garcia believes she did not violate any law. She also invoked Section 105 of the Local Government Code, which states that the national government through the Department of Health can only take over a local government during a pandemic for a period of six months.
The IATF-MEID, which is headed by the Health Secretary (Francisco Duque), has been issuing guidelines and protocols for more than a year since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “What crime did I commit? What law did I violate?” Garcia asked and explained that her policy on arriving OFWs and ROFs is not against the IATF policy, but was only adjusted to suit Cebu’s situation.
Garcia issued an executive order, which was adapted into an ordinance by the Cebu Provincial Board, requiring a maximum of three days stay in a hotel, as against the IATF-MEID’s resolution that requires 10-day quarantine in a hotel.
She said once tested negative, OFWs and ROFs who are Cebu residents, will be allowed to go home and continue their home quarantine, where they will be swabbed on the 7th day. Non-Cebu residents will be turned over to their local government of destination subject to their own protocols.
Garcia she did not want to further burden Filipinos who are coming home by making them stay long in a hotel that would cost them money.
Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing earlier said that this was an “innovative” way to implement IATF-MEID’s policy by adapting to the local government’s situation.
“As far as I know, I have been acting fully in conformity with my responsibility as governor of this province, tasked to look after my constituents in this province,” Garcia said.
Garcia also raised the issue regarding the lack of hotel rooms in Cebu for arriving OFWs and ROFs, after learning that she was accused of lying about it during a recent IATF-MEID meeting in Manila. She showed documents to prove the shortage of hotel rooms for incoming OFWs and ROFs, which had prompted the Mactan-Cebu International Airport not to accept international arrivals for two days.
A document certified by Department of Tourism Regional Director Shahlimar Tamano showed that on May 13, only 515 of the 2,694 hotel rooms for OFWs and ROFs were vacant. But this was because the DOT head office did not act on the request of local hotels and the Regional IATF-MEID to allow Cebu hotels to also accept regular guests as opposed to only quarantined OFWs and ROFs. This would have resulted in more rooms available.
“Next time that you tell a lie, make sure nga wala'y correspondence and walay mga klaro nga figures that will prove the inaccuracy of your statement,” Garcia said without specifying who among the Cabinet members she was referring to.
Rationale
Garcia also presented to President Rodrigo Duterte the rationale for Cebu’s arrival protocols for OFWs and ROFs. Duterte told Duque to critique these “innovations” and the possibility of applying Cebu’s Covid-19 response measures nationwide to manage the viral outbreak in the country.
“If you see something working, wouldn’t it be worth it to study it?” Garcia said in a press conference on June 1, a day after she and other top Cebu officials met with Duterte and other key Cabinet members in Malacañang on May 31.
Garcia pointed out that Duterte instructed Duque to find out why Cebu’s Covid-19 protocols, particularly its swab-upon-arrival policy for OFWs and ROFs, are “working and perhaps be applied to other regions.”
“May I cautiously state in being able to present to the President our position why we have done it, and how everyone was on board in coming up with this policy. In fact, well-represented…I think, in the sense, that the President was able to be given a different point of view,” she explained.
Garcia also cited Roque and Sen. Christopher Go for recognizing Cebu’s success in managing the Covid-19 crisis. She said Go has seen how Cebu has managed the pandemic and even opened up its economy since last year.
BFF
Roque said: “While all LGU's must follow national policies, we need to answer why Cebu has been on MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine) for 10 straight months. This has never happened in Metro Manila,” he said.
He also clarified that he has no plans or
authority to file cases against Garcia over Cebu’s alleged non-compliance to
the national government’s swabbing policy OFWs and ROFs.
“Wala pong
katotohanan ang mga lumalabas na report na may plano ako kasama
diumano si Justice Secretary Meynard Guevarra na mag sampa ng kaso
laban po kay Governor Gwen Garcia. Napakahirap pong magkaso po ako laban
kay Governor Gwen dahil unang-una, hindi po ‘yan kasama sa
katungkulan ko bilang isang spox. Laway lang po ako bilang spox,” he said.
Roque also
noted that it is known by many that he and Garcia are “best friends forever.”
“Maski ako’y
bigyan ng ganyang kapangyarihan, alam naman po ng marami na mag-BFF po
kami ni Governor Gwen at hindi ko po magagawa ‘yun. Siguro ibang tao pong
gagawa nun kung kinakailanga,” he said.
Roque
said Garcia simply innovated when she decided to slightly modified the swabbing
policy. “Pero naniniwala naman po ako na nag-innovate po ang
ating Governor Gwen Garcia nung siya’y magpa-implement ng
polisiya na hindi kapareho ng Maynila nung mga panahon na kulang po ang
kanilang mga kama for isolation,” he said. (Sugbo News, Carlo Lorenciana, Azer Parrocha,
Cebu Examiner)
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