The COVID-19 testing lab which is expected to serve patients in Las Pinas City is now opening its doors and starting operations to help improve the country’s testing capacity and recovery rate for the new coronavirus disease.

A team of experts went to the COVID testing facility of the Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center (LPGH-STC) to assess the facility and to conduct a proficiency testing.

Both the GeneXpert and RT- PCR machine passed the assessment. The laboratory personnel also passed the proficiency exam and were found to be competent to handle the testing using the GeneXpert technology.

Next week, the personnel will undergo proficiency exam in using the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 testing machine.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, whose family donated equipment to capacitate the hospital to operate its own COVID testing center, welcomed the development and expressed hope that similar facilities would be set up and accredited in other areas in the Philippines.

DOH operated hospitals should have their own testing centers, I hope the Department of Health could fast-track their application because we really need to improve our testing and tracing capacity and the accuracy of reporting of cases in this fight against COVID-19,” Villar said.

The Las Pinas facility just like the other facilities applying for accreditation, needs to go through a multi-stage process of laboratory assessment.

“With this testing center, patients in Las Pinas City will no longer have to travel far and wait long for results,” Villar said.

The Villar family has donated a laboratory freezer, biological refrigerator, autoclave sterilizer and passbox to the facility. 

They also provided assistance in ensuring that the renovation or retrofitting of the area assigned as a Covid testing laboratory will conform to the standards approved by the DOH and World Health Organization.

The RT-PCR machine was donated by San Miguel Foundation to LPGH-STC and will start to operate next week. The foundation reached out to Public Works Sec. Mark Villar and identified the LPGH-STC as a beneficiary of its program to help the government with COVID-19 testing by donating test kits to local government units and RT-PCR machines to government hospitals.

Published Friday, September 4, 2020 

by OneNews. PH

Published from: https://www.onenews.ph/villar-s-plastic-recycling-program-gives-livelihood-helps-solve-lack-of-chairs-and-plastic-woes?fbclid=IwAR1SqkGCgmKGWXQoEDoJe7WHaeAu3T19xiT2moo2RAdLFKJFKCwzZ_mgKrY

To date, about 1,056,000 kilos of plastic wastes have been collected and turned into armchairs in the plastic recycling program spearheaded by Senator Cynthia Villar.

To date, about 1,056,000 kilos of plastic wastes have been collected and turned into armchairs in the plastic recycling program spearheaded by Senator Cynthia Villar. This move has helped provide livelihood while providing solutions to the country’s problem on solid waste management and the lack of chairs in public schools.

The first Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG) Waste Plastic Recycling Factory was established in Barangay Ilaya, Las Pinas City in March 2013. Two other plastic factories were built in San Miguel, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro City in 2017 and we increased the capacity of Las Pinas plastic factories to 600 chairs chairs per month.

Since then, more than 52,800 chairs have been donated for free to public schools, learning sites and government and non-government associations all over the country.

“In turning plastic wastes into useful furniture like school chairs, we are not only reducing the amount of plastic garbage that goes into our water resources, which harms the environment. We are also able to provide livelihood sources to the poor, because the jobless, the non-skilled and even the physically disabled are employed by the factories,” Villar said.

When it was inaugurated, the Php 6-million Las Pinas plant was only the second of its kind. About 20 kilos of mixed “soft plastics”—such as food wrappers—are needed to make a chair, which can be fashioned to look like wooden pieces and comes with replaceable parts.

Workers from the community are employed to collect and segregate the plastic wastes, which are then shredded, washed, dried, melted and molded in the plant.

Contaminants found in the raw materials are removed in the process. Tests show that armchairs had low levels of lead (42 parts per million) and no traces of mercury.

Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, emphasized that environmental protection, particularly proper waste disposal and handling and recycling, is very important with or without a pandemic.

“We continue to generate waste even if we are under quarantine. If disposed improperly, waste will overwhelm our landfills and will clog our drainage. This will cause flooding and contribute to the spread of diseases,” she said.

With a capacity to produce 300 chairs a month, the first plastic factory in Las Pinas has manufactured more than 10,800 chairs in 3 years and increased its capacity at 600 chairs per month in 2017 of which are already donated to public schools in Benguet, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Cagayan Valley, Compostela Valley, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, Aurora, Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Albay, Camarines Norter, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, and Masbate.

It also donated to public schools in the National Capital Region; namely, Caloocan, Las Pinas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig and Valenzuela.

 Also in partnership with former Vice President Noli De Castro’s Kabayan Special Patrol,school chairs were distributed to far flung areas and indigenous communities.

Farm schools, TESDA learning centers, private companies, non-government organizations, and civic groups in Luzon are also beneficiaries of the program. We also donated chairs to Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Occidental, Leyte, and Northern Samar.

The latest batch of armchairs manufactured by the Las Pinas plant was donated last month to San Juan Science High School in San Juan City, Longos Elementary School in Malabon City, and Gomburza Elementary School in Caloocan City. Armchairs were also turned over to farm schools and learning sites in San Felipe and San Narciso in Zambales; Calauag, Quezon; and Guimba, Nueva Ecija.

Since the Iloilo plastic factory started operations in 2017, school chairs have been donated to 75 public schools in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Samar, Aklan, Capiz, Romblon, and Antique. Also donated are chairs to ten local government units in the Visayas and a senior citizen’s association in La Carlota.

The plastic factory in Cagayan de Oro was able to produce armchairs for public schools, TESDA schools, homeowner’s association, senior citizens’ organization and local government units in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro, and Basilan.

Villar has sounded the alarm on the country’s worsening problem on plastic wastes. Citing a study from the University of Georgia, the Philippines is the Top 3 largest producer of plastic waste leaking into the ocean, next to China and Indonesia.

She authored Senate Bill No. 1331 or the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2020 which seeks to institutionalize the practice of EPR in waste management. It also amends the 20-year-old Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

“This measure makes sure that the responsibility for the entire life cycle of plastic products rests on the manufacturers. It will mandate manufacturers to recover plastic wastes from their products as a mechanism towards achieving an efficient solid waste management,” Villar said.

The Nacionalista Party senator also authored Senate Bill 333 or the Single-Use Plastic Product Regulation Act, which seeks to regulate the manufacturing, importation, and single-use of plastic products.

“We should encourage Filipinos to be responsible stewards of the environment. There should be a shared responsibility among us when it comes to waste management. There is no exception because we all generate wastes,” said Villar.

Urges concerned departments to map out new normal strategies to seize opportunities.

Activities and travel related to agriculture and environment, according to Senator Cynthia A. Villar , will be the new growth areas and will provide the impetus to revive travel and tourism, one of the most adversely affected sectors by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“We all know that the ongoing lockdowns all over the country and the world has really hit the travel and tourism sector hard. All the industries related to it, especially hotels and airlines, are really reeling until now. Increased interest and popularity of farm tourism and eco-tourism will provide the much-needed impetus to the sector,” said Villar, who is the chairperson of both the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Environment.

Villar added, “After being locked down for months, people are longing to get reconnected to nature. Filipinos have also turned to gardening and growing their food. They can continue to do or pursue those interests and experiences when they visit a farm or a natural tourist attraction when things go back to normal or when quarantine eases”.

She thus urges the concerned department such as the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to work closely with the Department of Tourism (DoT), local government units (LGUs) or tourism boards and associations to put in place strategies and support mechanisms for businesses and entrepreneurs involved in farm tourism and eco-tourism.

According to travel experts, destinations in natural surroundings have become even more in demand. Eco-tourism and agritourism – where farming and nature blend with nature – will provide the much-needed boost in travel and tourism in the new normal. And besides businesses, the biggest beneficiaries of the new travel trend will be the local communities including farmers and fisherfolks.

Villar, the primary author and sponsor of the Republic Act No. 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016, said the legislative framework is in place and industry players need support and guidance from the government as they operate in the new normal setup. The said law paved the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to enjoy the benefits of converting their farms into farm tourism sites.

“In the last four years, since the law was passed, there has been a huge increase in farm tourism destinations all over the country. We published a book (Directory of Farm Schools, Tourist Farms and Learning Sites in the Philippines), from a list of only 386 in its first edition, the number has reached over 2,500. There are hundreds more out there that are not yet listed in our directory,” said Villar.

Even the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has acknowledged the key role of farm tourism, it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DoT to push for more farm tourism development in the country. She added that the Philippines has all the distinct advantages in farm tourism and eco-tourism—being an agricultural country with rich farming heritage, abundant natural resources, diverse geography perfect for various activities/adventures and hospitable people.

Published July 28, 2020 10:26pm

by DONA MAGSINO, GMA News

Published from: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/748903/villar-confident-coco-levy-will-not-be-vetoed-this-time/story/?fbclid=IwAR1vg6PMQfZP8UlGvlDIiV6CUO_Kgjhx-cy7egILLsa7ePSAB3Vu3ReNJ6A

Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday expressed confidence that the coco levy bill would finally get President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature this time after the latter urged Congress to prioritize it during his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“We are confident that it will already be enacted into law, given the President’s support,” Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture, said in a statement.

She said the utilization of the coco levy for the benefit of over 3.5 million coconut farmers in the Philippines is “long overdue.”

“The bill was re-filed with some modifications, taking into consideration the inputs being suggested by the executive branch of government so it will not be vetoed again,” Villar, principal sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber, said.

In February 2019, Duterte vetoed the coco levy bill which sought to create a P100-billion trusts fund for coconut farmers. Malacanang said it lacked mechanisms for checks and balances, making it prone to corruption.

Five months after the said veto, Duterte asked Congress to prioritize the measure during his 4th SONA.

The same call has been made in his latest SONA on Monday.

“I urge both Houses of Congress  the bill establishing the Coconut Farmers Trust Fund. Tulungan natin ang ating mga magsasaka na. Pag hindi, mawawala ‘yan, bilyon ‘yan. Diyos ko po,” Duterte said.

The estimated P105-billion coco levy fund in cash and assets were from the additional tax collections imposed to coconut farmers in the Philippines under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

These had been allegedly invested in enterprises for the personal interests of the late dictator and his cronies. —LDF, GMA News

The Philippine Fujian General Youth Association, Inc. met with Senator Cynthia Villar recently and turned over protective materials and food supply to support her relief operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Headed by its president, James Go, the group donated 600 pieces of cup noodles, 21,000 pieces of face masks, two gallons of alcohol, two gallons of disinfectant, and electric sprayer. Villar, who has been leading the efforts of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance to help alleviate the suffering of those badly affected by the health emergency, said the group’s donation will be part of her relief operations in Cebu. “In these uncertain times, we are reminded how interconnected we all are through the outpouring of support from individuals and groups of people who stepped up and helped us meet the challenges of this unprecedented health crisis,” Villar said. “I thank the group for their generosity and appreciate their efforts to contribute to our relief operations. Their donation will go a long way in helping stop the further spread of the virus in communities,” she added. Also present during the meeting with Villar at the Courtyard of the Villar SIPAG Complex in Las Pinas were other officers of Philippine Fujian General Youth Association, Inc., namely, Lucio Ang, executive vice president; Chen Wen Xiong, vice president; Jeff Bernal, secretary-general; and Vincent Tan and Willy Wang, executive directors.

Published July 7, 2020, 12:43 PM

by Vanne Elaine Terrazola

Published from: https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/07/villar-govt-to-fund-assistance-programs-for-local-farmers/?fbclid=IwAR0PyR-mGR_5qmbzQvw3m5oobXD9ZmjKAOOzJl77Kxy1OXTXMOna5czR3NA

Senator Cynthia Villar has assured that the government will continue to fund its assistance programs for local farmers amid the continued importation of rice and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Villar, in a statement, said there is no need for additional cash for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) since the Rice Tariffication Act already guarantees an annual ₱10-billion budget.

The chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee was commenting on the ₱8-billion fund requested by the Department of Agriculture (DA) for its Rice Resiliency Project amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Department of Budget and Management released to the DA last April the requested fund, which included an allocation for “enhanced RCEF”.

“The RCEF does not need any additional budget allocated from the COVID-19 prevention,” Villar said.

She noted that the DA, aside from the RCEF, has a separate National Rice Program, which has a yearly P7 billion budget for buying fertilizer and hybrid seeds. Republic Act 11203, enacted last year, mandates the provision of an annual ₱10-billion budget to the RCEF for six years from the tariffs collected from rice imports.

The RCEF shall be used to help farmers compete with imported rice, by giving them farm equipment, inbred seeds, low-interest credit, and training.

The RCEF is expected to aid in lowering the cost of local rice.

“This cheaper supply of rice from our own rice farmer helps lower rice prices for Filipino consumers,” Villar said.

The government recently scrapped its planned government-to-government importation of 300,000 metric tons of rice after Vietnam lifted its ban on rice exports.

Vietnam is a major source of rice imports of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, about 2.26 million bags of certified inbred rice seeds have been distributed for free to rice farmers to help boost the country’s rice production.

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Deputy Executive Director Flordeliza Bordey on Tuesday said seed delivery is already 90 percent of its target 2.5 million bags of certified inbred seeds for distribution this wet cropping season.

“We have already reached 968 municipalities or about 97 percent of our target 1,000 municipalities in 55 provinces,” Bordey said during the Laging Handa virtual presser.

She explained that farmers listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture and are practicing transplanting method received one 20-kilogram (kg) bag of seed for every half hectare of cultivated area up to a maximum of six bags for those who have rice fields larger than 2.5 hectares.

Farmers practicing the directseeding method received two bags of seeds for every half hectare, she added.

The distribution of certified inbred seeds was done under the Seed Program of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which is a component of the Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law.

Under the law, P10 billion will be allocated every year for the next six years from 2019 for RCEF and will be allocated as follows: ₱5 billion for farm mechanization; ₱3 billion for high-yielding seeds; ₱1 billion for credit support; and ₱1 billion for training programs. (With a report from Ellalyn B. de Vera)

Sen. Cynthia Villar today announced the launching of the updated version of the directory which will guide farm enthusiasts, trainees and tourists about farm destinations and learning sites in the country.

The 466-paged 5th edition of Directory of Farm Schools, Tourist Farms and Learning Sites in the Philippines contains photographs and contact details of these sites from all the 17 regions in full color.

“This book is part of my efforts to promote farm tourism and the farm schools in our country. I continue to urge farmers to follow the example of others who have since become more profitable. They have tripled their income sources—from their crops or harvests, from tourists who visit their farms and from trainees who enroll in training programs,” Villar said.

Villar principally authored Republic Act 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016 which paved the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to enjoy the benefits of converting their farms into tourist destinations.

The chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food also cited the increasing number of venues for agriculture-related training which helps remove the barriers that prevent Filipino farmers and fisher folk from being competitive and profitable, including the lack of technology, mechanization and financial literacy, and inability to access cheap credit.

From a list of about 386 in the first edition, the directory now lists more than 2,500 farms, including the four farm schools established by Villar SIPAG in Las Pinas-Bacoor; San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan; San Miguel, Iloilo; and Davao City.

The first Villar SIPAG Farm School opened in September 2015. It is located in an 8 hectare lot within the boundary of Las Piñas City and Bacoor City, Cavite and is situated beside the Molino Dam to cater trainees from NCR, Southern Luzon and Bicol.

It has a training tent facility, two dormitories, a staff house and a farm house. It also features a vermi-composting facility, green house, solar lamp post, ram pump, two windmills, livestock, cacao school, a bamboo museum, a water impounding facility with tilapia, a rice field, a herbal medicine garden and a coconut house.

The farm in San Jose del Monte City opened in July 2016. Like the Bacoor Farm, it is also a venue of the training program on Agri-Crops production in partnership with East West Seeds Foundation. The program is open to everyone who wants to learn urban agriculture. It also offers free training programs for farmers in Northern and Central Luzon and the Cordilleras.

On January 20, 2020, Villar inaugurated the Villar SIPAG Farm School in San Miguel, Iloilo to serve the Visayas Region. The main training program offered here is the two-week Training of Trainors on Rice Mechanization and Inbred Rice Seeds Production.

In addition, the Villar SIPAG Farm School in Davao City was established also this year to provide training to farmers and others who want to avail of agriculture-related training in Mindanao.

The farm school directory also includes a listing of farms and its classification under rice, corn, coconut, organic crops, non-organic crops, high-value organic crops, bamboo, livestock, poultry, dairy, aquaculture, wild catch, and diversified.

It also features a list of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-accredited courses on agriculture, which farm schools can teach and students and farmers can avail of for free in accredited learning sites nearby.

The directory is a project of Villar SIPAG in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Training Institute, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, Department of Agrarian Reform, TESDA, and Department of Tourism. ###

Senator Cynthia Villar continues to enhance the capabilities and responsiveness of Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center (LPGH & STC) in dealing with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. She recently turned over five units of essential medical equipment to LPGH & STC received by Dr. Rodrigo Hao, Medical Director. These include apassbox, biological freezer, biological refrigerator, autoclave sterilizer and ventilator.

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial for our local hospitals to have the necessary equipment and facilities to cope with COVID-19 cases on top of their regular patients. The ongoing pandemic is putting so much pressure on hospitals and frontliners, we need to support and equip them,” said Villar, who has been supporting her home city’s hospital since she was a congresswoman.

She authored Republic Act 9240 in 2004 that converted the then Las Piñas District Hospital into LPGH & STC and increased the bed capacity of the hospital from 50 then to the present 200 beds.

She recently filed Senate Bill No. 143 to increase in the bed capacity of LGPH & STC from the present 200 to 500 beds and upgrade its service facilities and professional healthcare services. The proposed bill has been approved in the Senate. A counterpart measure at the House of Representative, authored by Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar, was passed last March 2, 2020.

The senator has earmarked PhP500 million this year to fund the expansion of LPGH & STC. The construction of the additional eight-storey building is slated to be finished next year. Last year, she also channeled PhP144 million to purchase the land and start the hospital building’s construction.

According to her, the expansion of LGPH & STC will provide separate facilities for Covid-19 and non-Covid patients to avoid the spread of the virus, one building each. “That would also ensure that regular healthcare services are not disrupted,” the senator added. LPGH & STC is a DOH-operated hospital that serves the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces.

“There is an urgent need to expand and upgrade public hospitals and health facilities in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that has increased the number of patients needing hospitalization. We have to be prepared,” she said.

There are about 456 hospitals in the country with a total bed capacity of 67,119. Approximately 41% of these beds are in government-owned hospitals while the remaining 59% are in private hospitals. ###

Published THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

Published from: https://www.facebook.com/notes/cynthia-a-villar/villar-waste-management-recycling-even-more-crucial-during-pandemic/3149006508475847/

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said waste management should not take a backseat during the pandemic but instead it should be prioritized to prevent the spread of diseases.

“We all know that a clean environment is a healthy environment. Improperly disposed wastes can cause infection and contamination. So, we should to take proper waste disposal and management even more seriously,” said Villar.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “If solid waste is not dealt with quickly, serious health risks will develop which will further demoralize the community already traumatized by the emergency”. Moreover, the International Solid Waste Association cites that “Waste Management is one of the most important sanitary barriers to prevent dissemination of illnesses and diseases”.

According to the senator, recycling of recyclable wastes can also help manage the amount of wastes accumulated even during community quarantine. She said experts themselves cite that continuity of recycling efforts is important during and after the pandemic.

“Proper waste management becomes even more crucial now during quarantine or lockdown because some waste collection services are discontinued or disrupted. But the amount of wastes produced continues to increase,” cited Villar, who has established 3,000 livelihood projects nationwide, which help process solid wastes by using them as raw materials.

The barangay-based livelihood enterprises use wastes as raw materials. These includet water hyacinths for the waterlily handicraft-weaving enterprise and the handmade paper factory; waste coconut husks for the coconet-weaving enterprise and the charcoal-making factory; kitchen and garden wastes for the organic fertilizer composting facility; and plastic wastes for the waste plastic recycling factory that produces school chairs.

The coconet weaving enterprises turn waste coconut husks into coconets, organic fertilizers and charcoal brisquettes out of them. The workers using a decorticating machine can extract fiber and coco peat from the husks which are used for making coconet. The coco dusts are mixed with household wastes to make organic fertilizers that are distributed for free to farmers and urban gardeners. A decorticating machine can extract fiber and dust from up to 8,000 waste coconut husks daily.

Villar also facilitated the establishment of composting centers in barangays to collect kitchen and garden wastes in the households to be brought to the composting facility. It now has 80 composters utilized by 80,000 households.

She also addressed the worsening problem of plastic pollution by recycling plastic wastes. The Philippines, based on a University of Georgia study, ranked third, next to China and Indonesia (among 192 countries surveyed), in terms of volume of plastic wastes produced by the population.

The senator, through Villar SIPAG, put up a Waste Plastic Recycling Factory in 2013 in Barangay Ilaya, Las Pinas City. It converts waste plastics into chairs, which is the solution to another perennial problem—lack of school chairs. One school chair can be produced out of 20 kilos of waste plastics such as sachets and wrappers. Since 2013, the Las Pinas factory has produced over 30,000 chairs. Two more plastic factories are built in San Miguel, Iloilo and Cagayan De Oro City to cover the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

By  Former Senate President Manny Villar

 Published June 23, 2020, 11:01 PM

Published from: https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/06/23/protect-our-ofws/?fbclid=IwAR3zsnrYmPLHcaHcWuT7NDOBytzYIb6Ocb0FbmkAPRYaNpeJsfwFhMIJscw

Former Senate President Manny Villar

As the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, let us not forget to help and protect Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)—those who are returning home and those who are still working abroad. As my good friend Senator Ralph Recto said, “they deserve a red carpet treatment.”

According to recent data, more than 55,000 OFWs have returned to the Philippines with more than 43,000 released from the mandated quarantine to ensure that they do not carry, and will not spread, the deadly virus. Of this number, 1,376 has so far tested positive with COVID-19.

On the other hand, 6,140 overseas workers have been reported to be infected with the coronavirus, with deaths number to 495. The data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also tells us that 2,851 Filipinos have recovered from the virus while 2,794 are ongoing treatment.

For decades, we have established ourselves as the prime exporter of labor. This has fueled economic growth and helped us mitigate some economic crisis that came our way. In 2019, our OFWs sent an estimated US$30 billion home which is more than 7 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Its advantages has turned to a liability as the coronavirus hit countries around the world. With so many Filipinos scattered worldwide, some are bound to be infected, especially in many of the hard-hit countries like Italy and the US. Our consular offices need to do their job in order to protect OFWs who have contracted the virus. They should coordinate with the host country to ensure that our OFWs are receiving proper care and treatment.

As the coronavirus forced many countries to impose lockdowns that shackled their economies, many of our OFWs lost their jobs and have returned home. With so many OFWs returning, the Philippines need to use all available resources to provide testing and isolating facilities so that our returning OFWs receive the best care possible.

Malacañang has already issued a statement that they are giving our OFWs the “VIP treatment” while in quarantine. Government pays for the hotels where they are quarantined as well as transportation and the essentials they need.

While there have been many complaints of OFWs staying in quarantine facilities way longer than the period of time required, I am glad government has stepped up its game in terms of ensuring that both our OFWs and the community they are returning to will be safe. While at this, I call upon local government units to protect OFWs returning to their province. There have been reports of OFWs being ostracized and discriminated against by local communities. Let us not lose our compassion even as we vigilantly guard against the spread of the virus.

On a macro level, government needs to have a plan to address surging unemployment. The National Statistics Office reported that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to a record 17.7 per cent during the lockdown, the first time it reached double digits since 2005. This rate translates to more than 7 million Filipinos without work and with no ability to feed their family.

The record jump is in no doubt the result of the quarantine measures that closed many businesses in March and April. With government easing some of these restrictions, many workers have returned to work. But some establishments have already announced that they are closing permanently. This translates to more unemployment. And with OFWs losing their jobs abroad, we should expect our unemployment to worsen.

We need to be prepared to give them jobs and livelihood. One idea is to retrain them in order to take advantage of the new economic opportunities that the lockdown has created. Many have gone to online selling in order to survive. Some have become riders and delivery personnel as these services surge with people mostly staying at home.

The bottomline is this: we need a plan to reintegrate and retool our OFWs.