AdvocatesTV • June 17, 2020
PMS assures LGUs that stranded individuals sent home are COVID-free
Screengrab: PCOO Facebook Page
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo denied claims that locally stranded individuals (LSIs), which the government’s Hatid Tulong program helped, brought COVID-19 to the provinces.
Encabo said that LSIs undergo mandatory rapid testing for COVID-19 before they are allowed to board transportation provided through the Hatid Tulong program.
He added that the LSIs who yielded positive results are isolated for swab or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
“If they are negative makakasama. Pero if positive, kaakibat namin dito ang Department of Health (DOH) at ang Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) kung saan ang positive ay automatic na ilalagay sa quarantine facility subject for 14-day quarantine period and confirmatory tests,” Encabo said.
(If they are negative, they are cleared to travel home, but if positive, we follow DOH and BOQ protocols to subject those who tested positive to 14-day quarantine and confirmatory tests. )
Encabo also said that accepting LSIs is part of the constitutional obligations of local government units (LGUs) to their constituents and compliance with the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
He added that LGUs who defy the order of the IATF will be penalized. They will also be made to explain their actions before the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The government temporarily suspended the Balik Probinsya program to give way to the Hatid Tulong program and expedite the return of LSIs who were caught by the Metro Manila lockdown.
