The Bohol Medical Society (BMS) and the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) jointly
release a strong statement regarding the revised uniform protocol on locally stranded
individuals (LSI), overseas Filipino workers (OFW). returning overseas Filipino (ROF) and
authorized person outside of residence (APOR) by the Bohol chapter of the League of
Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP).
The statement comes at the heels of the uniform protocol agreed by the members of the
LMP Bohol chapter, set to be implemented starting Dec. 1, 2020.
The statement from the two (2) groups of doctors is dated Nov. 26, 2020 and signed by
BMS president Dr. Jefferson Ong and PCP Bohol chapter president Dr. Kazan Benigno
Baluyot.
In the statement, the doctors said,” The medical community of Bohol has been vigilantly
monitoring the application of the various safety and quarantine protocols. “
The doctors added in their statement that, “While a dip in the number of cases reflects the
efficacy of our public health endeavors against the pandemic, it should not be a reason to
relax our adherence to the protocols that have worked against the spread of CoViD-19 in
the province. We have seen this pattern again and again even in cities with robust
healthcare resources and relatively vigilant populace; that a decrease in adherence to strict
protocols results in a rapid surge in locally transmitted cases.”
The doctors added: “It is also an established fact that compromised border protocols do not
do any good against the important of cases into an otherwise low-risk locality.“
“Testing protocols for APORs, LSIs and OFWs have also been relaxed and this will
increase the likelihood of imported cases and subsequent spread into the community. Our
Tagbilaran City Health Office can attest to the unreliability of the 72 hours pre-departure
testing alone as many of these, upon retesting on arrival, have turned out CoViD-19
positive,” the doctors mentioned their apprehension in the press statement.
Moreover, the doctors bared in the same statement that, “This is even more dangerous with
those who may enter the province without prior testing. It takes only one unidentified active
case to begin a nightmarish scenario of an uncontrolled outbreak. These are facts
established through experience and gathered data.”
In this light the heads of the BMS and PCP recommend the following:
- Local Government Units (LGU) receiving APORs or returning Bohol residents (OFWs,
LSIs and ROFs) should adhere strictly to the protocols which have been proven effective.
Protocols formulated and deliberated upon by the (Bohol Inter Agency Task Force) BIATF
Health/Medical cluster have been the most effective thus far. - LGU should exercise the highest level of vigilance in quarantine protocols. The 14-day
quarantine remains the most reliable and effective measure with or without reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for all persons from other
provinces or countries entering our locality. - Home quarantine is not recommended unless deemed utterly necessary and fulfils all the
requirements in the guidelines for home quarantine facilities. No compromise should be
allowed when implementing this quarantine option as it is prone to abuse and violation. - Large group gatherings of more than 10 persons from different households should
continue to be discouraged as these can easily be venues for the rapid spread of the
disease. In any gathering; proper wearing of face masks, 6-feet of social distancing and
regular handwashing or disinfection must be maintained.
The doctors further revealed their stand by saying: “We ask that we as a community,
should be patent a little longer. The work and sacrifices we have made these past several
months to contain this pandemic will only be justified if we hold on until the end. It has been
difficult and very unusual to the point of perpetual stress for all of us. The ability to move
about, get things going even if it is in limited way, and remain healthy for this long despite
the situation of the world is indeed a great blessing for our Bol-anon community. Let us not
waste this blessing through recklessness and impotence. Instead we all must pray to God
our Sovereign Lord to limit these days of trial or else we will fail to thrive as a community
both in health and economically.”