Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) director Col. Cabal assured the public that stringent security measures are being implemented at the Mercedarian Retreat House in Dauis where returning overseas Filipono workers are being quarantined.

According to Cabal, at least eight policemen will guard the retreat house and its perimeter 24 hours a day to ensure the OFWs’ safety and prevent them from leaving the quarantine facility.

“May walo tayong police na talagang nagbabantay doon and at the same time may patrol doon na naka station at naka standby. Every breakfast at dinner sila din mag account para macheck na kompleto ang bilang nila,” Cabal said.

The province’s top cop reminded the families of the OFWs not to visit the facility while the quarantine is ongoing as they will not be allowed to see them.

He said that they may keep in touch through calls using cellphones or through video calls on various platforms.

Cabal called on the public not to panic as OFWs start to arrive in the province as he noted that the arriving Boholanos have already been quarantined in their places of origin and tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID) 19.

If at least one person from a batch of returning OFWs tests positive, everyone from the group will be barred from entering the province.

Governor Arthur Yap said that all of the returning OFWs will undergo another rapid COVID-19 testing on the seventh day after their arrival in the province.

As of Monday morning, 17 OFWs from Cebu have arrived in Bohol. At least 40 more are expected to arrive from Manila later in the day.

The return of OFWs even amid the enhanced community quarantine in Bohol which suspended inbound travel into the province came after the national government approved the travel of OFWs from Metro Manila and other places to their hometowns.

Yap has earlier appealed for sobriety as he asked the public not to take out their fears on COVID-19 against the OFWs and other returning Boholanos.

“We must take out against those who are violating the liquor ban, those who are not wearing face masks, those insisting on celebrating fiesta, those violating social distancing and those illegally coming into Bohol,” Yap said.

Yap has deemed OFWs as modern-day heroes who have helped lift their families from poverty and prop up the economy through remittances. (R. Tutas)