Cebu lawyers set to file case vs IATF rule

CEBU, Philippines —  Two lawyers in Cebu will file a petition before the court today to have the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) policy for arriving Overseas Filipino Workers and Returning Overseas Filipinos declared inapplicable and ineffective in Cebu.

Lawyers Clarence Paul Oaminal and Valentino Bacalso, Jr. will file a petition for declaratory relief before the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City in their capacity as taxpayers.

They want the court to declare IATF Resolution No. 114 dated May 6, 2021 and its subsequent modifications inapplicable and ineffective in Cebu Province.

They also want the court to issue a 20-day temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction against the national policy while the case in pending.

Further, they want the court to order the national IATF and its agents to cease and desist from enforcing its protocols on swabbing and quarantine on OFWs and ROFs arriving in Cebu.

The national government's protocols require OFWs and ROFs to undergo quarantine for at least 10 days and swab tests on the seventh day from arrival. Under the Cebu provincial ordinance, however, OFWs and ROFs will be swabbed upon arrival at the Mactan airport and can proceed to their point of destination if they test negative. There, they will undergo home quarantine and will be swabbed on the seventh day.

The two lawyers said that by virtue of Cebu Provincial Ordinance No. 2021-04, as amended, and Executive Order No. 17, the Cebu policy for OFWs and ROFs was enacted validly pursuant to Sections 105 and 16 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code.

Meanwhile, Atty. Glenn Napuli, officer-in-charge of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, they have stopped implementing the Cebu policy starting Sunday, June 20. The OFWs and ROFs were no longer swabbed upon arrival.

“But ready ra atong facilities if mo-swab sila… Ako, personally, I would recommend swab upon arrival then another swab on the seventh day. This is for the safety of the hotel workers and other frontliners,” he said.

Earlier, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the executive power of the President prevails over local ordinances, thus, local government units must follow the command of the national government.

Año said the policies of LGUs during a pandemic are expected to conform to the policies of the IATF created through an executive order issued by the President.

“They (LGUs) are expected to follow the command of the national government exercised through the executive power of the chief executive, hence, no amount of an executive order or ordinance from the province can defeat this power of the President,” Año said.

Ted Herbosa, adviser to the national COVID-19 task force, also said that what the national government does not like in Cebu’s policy is the part where these travelers are allowed to do home quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19 at the airport.

“That’s what the national government does not want. You can swab on arrival if you want but you have to be in a quarantine facility,” he said.

He said it is this aspect of the Cebu policy that relaxes and opposes the protocol being implemented by the national government.

Meanwhile, Department of Health (DOH)-7 chief pathologist, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, is expected to present her data on arriving OFWs and ROFs in Cebu before the Provincial Board today. — JMO (FREEMAN)