Two Cebuano lawyers have filed a case for declaratory relief against the Inter-Agency Task Force protocols for arriving overseas Filipino workers and balikbayans.
The lawyers’ petition states that the IATF protocols are ‘inapplicable and ineffective” within the province.
Petitioners Attys. Clarence Paul Oaminal and Valentino Bacalso filed the petition against the IATF resolution.
“Cebu Provincial Ordinance No. 2021-04 as amended and Executive Order No. 17 validly enacted pursuant to Sections 105 and 16 of Republic Act No. 7160,” the petition said.
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Under the resolution, the IATF requires returning Filipinos to stay in an accredited quarantine facility for ten days and undergo RT-PCR testing seven days after their return.
Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia continues to defy the quarantine protocols of arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amid the order of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) that all local government units must follow national policies.
In a press conference, Garcia reiterated her position on the swab upon arrival and one to two days of quarantine at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
“The provincial ordinance, which adopted the protocols which I set forth in Executive Order 17, is the law of the land at this point in time because no one has questioned it, no one has gone to court, much less has it been declared ultra vires (beyond its authority) by a proper court,” Garcia said.
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“We are a government of laws, not of men. And so it is not about someone saying that the provincial ordinance is null and void because it goes against a particular resolution issued by IATF,” she added.
Garcia also warns that any person who will follow the IATF protocols may face sanctions.
Garcia also signed Executive Order No. 23 on Monday to remind government staff to follow the province’s ordinance on OFW testing and quarantine. (TDT)
