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| Sacadas arrive in Antique on May 18, 2020 from Negros Occidental. A number of them would return to Negros Occidental as the sugar milling season starts this September. (Photo from: PDRRMO-Antique) |
[아시아뉴스통신=페이 기자] Sugarcane millers will shoulder the expense for the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test of sugar migrant workers (sacadas) who will be returning to Negros Occidental from this province.
“The milling season for sugarcane in Negros Occidental is about to start this September that is why the millers would again need workers,” said Antique Provincial Development Officer III Guilly Clemente of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) in an interview on Monday.
He said they met with millers’ representatives and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Antique director Melissa Navarra last Aug. 20 where they discussed the requirements for the RT-PCR test and other health protocols.
“For the sacadas who are members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), their RT-PCR will be charged with the PHIC,” he said.
Millers will be the ones to pay for the RT-PCR of those who are not PHIC members. No deduction shall be made from their wages. The test will be conducted upon their arrival in Negros Occidental.
Clemente said that a letter of acceptance will be issued by the provincial government to those who will be allowed entry to Negros Occidental based on the list that will be submitted to the office of Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson. The requirement was stipulated in the guidelines for returning migratory sugarcane workers dated August 6.
The guidelines require sacadas to undergo the mandatory quarantine until their RT-PCR test results are released. Positive coronavirus disease 2019 cases shall be transferred to the provincial quarantine facilities.
