Manila Rep. Manny Lopez yesterday urged government to consider utilizing either Corregidor or Caballo Islands as quarantine sites for returning overseas Filipino workers in the wake of the staunch objection of Capas, Tarlac residents and officials on the use of New Clark City to isolate repatriates.
Lopez, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, filed House Resolution No. 694 to seek House support for his proposal.
Like the New Clark City, Caballo Island may be ready for quarantine purposes, Lopez said.
He recalled that in 2014, the island was used to quarantine members of the Philippine peacekeeping contingent following their return from Liberia, then reeling from the threat of the Ebola virus.
Both Corregidor and Caballo are safer and more practical because they are isolated from the cities, he said.
The Department of Health has chosen the newly-developed New Clark City as the quarantine area for returning Filipinos from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the highly-communicable and deadly coronavirus.
The local government of Capas assailed the DoH decision and swiftly adopted a resolution airing the town’s strong objection to the move.
Capas residents have prodded local officials to file a court case to stop the DoH from carrying out its plan.
Government has vowed to file a countercharge that would seek penalties for the protesting local officials. (Ben Rosario)
