North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco. (Photo courtesy of North Cotabato PIO)
COTABATO CITY – A task force has been created to help North Cotabato residents stranded in other parts of the country, return to their home province amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) lockdowns.
Some 400 residents of North Cotabato are stranded in various parts of the country, mostly in Manila and Davao City, Governor Nancy Catamco said on Tuesday.
Catamco presided over a meeting of the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19 during which “Task Force Sagip Stranded Cotabateños” was created.
She said the IATF was still finalizing the funds for the transport of the stranded people back home.
“Stranded Cotabateños can now go home,” Catamco said. "The task force will work with the stranded individuals who were not able to go home (to) their respective municipalities before the start of the lockdown."
Upon their arrival in North Cotabato, the province’s three congressional offices and the Department of Social Welfare and Development will provide the assistance for the returning Cotabateños.
To ensure community protection, Catamco noted that precautionary measures are to be observed.
“Upon entrance, they will be required to undergo the 14-day quarantine period in chosen areas of their respective municipalities,” she said.
For stranded migrant workers, she maintained that intervention would follow specific protocols based on the national guidelines.
“Returning migrant workers and seafarers must present health clearances from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as the nature of their isolation will be case-to-case basis depending on their situation,” Catamco said.
She said the three congressional districts and municipal mayors of the province would be working hand in hand with her to ensure the success of the intervention. (PNA)
