Gov’t creates task group to bring home 5,300 Filipinos from Sabah

MANILA, Philippines – The newly-created Inter-Agency Task Group Western Mindanao – Management of Returning Filipinos from Sabah (IATGWM-MREFS) buckles down to work by facilitating the repatriation of about 5,300 Filipinos from Sabah, Malaysia amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to the government’s coronavirus task force, 1,538 Filipinos in Sabah have already completed their travel documents. The IATGWM-MREFS is tasked to ensure the safe return of these Filipinos.

The Task Group is composed of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Bureau of Quarantine, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, and Bureau of Immigration.

The “command and control” is led by the DSWD in the regions of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Half of the Filipino repatriates are bound for Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, while 30% are headed to the Zamboanga Peninsula. The remaining 20% will return to other parts of the country. The task force said each receiving local government unit may subject the Filipino returnees to further quarantine procedures.

The Filipino returnees will undergo Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing to ensure that they are free from the novel coronavirus disease prior to returning.

The government also partnered with Zamboanga-based Aleson Shipping Lines for the program. Only half of the ships’ capacity – around 400 passengers – will be allowed to board to ensure physical distancing. 

“This implementation plan [for repatriated Filipinos] represents the collective efforts of many government agencies. They regard this as truly an interagency exercise, where its success is anchored on everyone’s full participation,” Defense Undersecretary Cesar B. Yano said on Thursday, June 25. – Rappler.com