Tag: IATF

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Lacson: ‘Sensible’ Health Protocols to Help Accelerate Economic Recovery

Image courtesy: Philtimes.com.au

We can accelerate our much-needed economic recovery if some of our health protocols – such as a hotel quarantine requirement lasting at least seven days – are revisited and made more responsive and sensible, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said.

Lacson said foreign nationals who run businesses in the Philippines are turned off by the prospect of being locked in a hotel, especially if they have already been fully vaccinated before returning to the Philippines.

“This is one more reason for our authorities to make our health and quarantine protocols more responsive – and more importantly, more sensible. We should consider the plight of permanent residents in the Philippines who run small businesses here. They cannot make sense out of this requirement. Thus they may opt not to return here until the requirement is lifted,” Lacson said.

Related: Ping: Health Protocols Gawing Praktikal para Ekonomiya ay Sumigla
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Apela ni Ping sa IATF: Kaunting Kaluwagan sa mga OFW, Balikbayan

Sen. Ping Lacson at the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on June 15, 2021

Umaapela si Senador Panfilo Lacson sa Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) ng kahit na kaunting pagluluwag lamang sa pagpapatupad ng health protocols sa mga dumarating na balikbayan at overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Ito ay sa harap ng katotohanang kailangang gumastos nang malaki ang mga balikbayan sa pagsasailalim sa mga proseso, kasama ang pananatili ng ilang araw na “quarantine” sa mga hotel.

“Find the middle ground. We cannot be too stiff, too stringent. May occasion dapat na flexible tayo,” banggit ni Lacson sa pagdinig ng Senate Committee of the Whole sa COVID-19 vaccination program ng pamahalaan.

Related: Lacson to IATF: Find ‘Middle Ground’ for Balikbayans, Returning Residents
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Lacson to IATF: Find ‘Middle Ground’ for Balikbayans, Returning Residents

Sen. Ping Lacson at the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on June 15, 2021

Small adjustments by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in implementing health protocols can be a big help to our balikbayans and returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This is because balikbayans have had to spend thousands of pesos and suffer much inconvenience including several days’ “quarantine” at a hotel, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said.

“Find the middle ground. We cannot be too stiff, too stringent. May occasion dapat na flexible tayo (There are times we should be flexible),” Lacson said at the hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program Tuesday.

Related: Apela ni Ping sa IATF: Kaunting Kaluwagan sa mga OFW, Balikbayan
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Ping: Vaccine Passport sa Kaluwagan ng mga Umuuwing OFW, Dayuhang Negosyante

Hindi na dapat pang maabala ang paggalaw ng mga umuuwing overseas Filipino workers (OFW) at mga dayuhang mangangalakal na ganap nang bakunado sa mga bansang pinanggalingan kaya dapat na magkaroon ng vaccine passport.

Ito ang rekomendasyon ni Senador Panfilo Lacson matapos ang samu’t saring reklamo ng mga pumapasok sa bansa bunga ng napakahigpit pa ring protocol na ipinapatupad ng mga awtoridad kahit pa sa mga kumpleto na ang bakuna laban sa COVID-19 sa mga bansang pinagmulan.

Ayon kay Lacson, dahil sa mga polisiyang ito ay nagdadalawang-isip na umuwi ang maraming OFW kahit pa napakahalaga ang pakay nila, bunga na rin ng matagal na pagkakatengga bago makarating sa patutunguhan batay sa umiiral na protocols.

“For our returning OFWs, at most, we might require them to take a swab test then allow them to go home, then require them to stay at home for 10 days. No need to require them to stay at a hotel. Most of the time, OFWs return to the country because of an emergency. But if you are an OFW and you are required to be quarantined for 10 days, how many days of your leave will go to waste? I don’t think that makes sense,” banggit ni Lacson sa panayam ng ANC.

Related: Lacson Pushes Vaccine Passport Prioritizing OFWs, Foreign Investors
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Lacson Pushes Vaccine Passport Prioritizing OFWs, Foreign Investors

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson batted Monday for a vaccine passport system that will make traveling to the Philippines easier for vaccinated people, especially for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and foreign investors.

Lacson said many returning OFWs and foreign investors are reluctant to come to the Philippines because of tight protocols, especially those that may require them to spend more than a week in a quarantine facility not necessarily of their choice.

“For our returning OFWs, at most, we might require them to take a swab test then allow them to go home, then require them to stay at home for 10 days. No need to require them to stay at a hotel. Most of the time, OFWs return to the country because of an emergency. But if you are an OFW and you are required to be quarantined for 10 days, how many days of your leave will go to waste? I don’t think that makes sense,” he said in an interview on ANC.

“Also, our tourism sector and investment will suffer. If a potential investor who would like to come here learns of the requirements that include a swab test and stay at a quarantine facility not of his or her choice, would he or she still come?” he added.

Related: Ping: Vaccine Passport sa Kaluwagan ng mga Umuuwing OFW, Dayuhang Negosyante
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