After President Rodrigo Duterte insisted that Cebu follow national protocols, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said Tuesday, June 21, she was “setting aside” her contentious executive order (EO) on the province’s custom protocols on overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).

In a public address Monday, the President’s bluster was particularly aimed at Cebu after the province stood pat in implementing its own set of protocols for OFWs and ROFs arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Earlier Monday, a defiant Garcia issued EO 23, ordering local government agencies in Cebu to continue adhering the province’s custom health protocols in the MCIA.

On Tuesday, Garcia shifted gears and said she was setting aside EO 23 “in deference to the president.”

“The President himself has stated that Cebu must follow the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) Guideline which is national policy and which supersedes local law. In deference to the president, I am announcing right now that the executive order that I issued – EO 23 … this executive order, I am now setting aside,” said Garcia in her video statement on Tuesday.

Garcia’s EO 23 reminded all heads of government agencies that the provincial ordinance was in effect. It said that those who defied Cebu’s ordinance faced possible criminal and administrative charges.

Cebu’s custom health protocol mandated Filipinos returning from abroad to be swabbed upon arrival and on the seventh day. They only needed to spend 2-3 days of quarantine while waiting for a negative RT-PCR test result, then they are allowed to travel back to their local government unit to comply with the remaining days of mandatory quarantine either in barangay facilities or in home isolation.

During his address to the nation on Monday night, the President insisted that Cebu must follow the national government.

The national IATF directives order OFWs and ROFs to undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine – 10 days in accredited quarantine hotels.

In the same address Duterte said he would leave it to the Department of Interior and Local Government to “compel” Garcia to follow the national government.

Duterte’s order to the DILG was a result of Garcia’s adamance when she issued EO 23.

This is the first time one side has yielded in this drawn-out back-and-forth of contrasting policies between the IATF and Cebu Province with regards to border control policies.

Garcia also thanked Duterte for his promise to extend government subsidy on the “expenses for sequestration” to every returning Filipino instead of just OFWs.

Stick to day one swabbing

In her statement, the Cebu governor acknowledged that Cebu and IATF policies mainly diverged in the required days in hotel quarantine.

She said that OFWs and ROFs would continue to be swabbed upon their arrival in the island as that practice had been helpful in identifying more COVID 19-positive cases.

“Even as I set aside EO 23, we shall continue with our swab upon arrival policy. Because we have found that doing this gives us better control over those that arrive already testing positive,” Garcia said.

Garcia was scheduled to meet with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and medical experts from IATF to discuss the issue of border protocols in the island on June 28. – Rappler.com