BF Homes defends POGO workers’ testing

MANILA, Philippines — The homeowners’ association of a gated subdivision in Parañaque City yesterday defended its decision to allow at least 300 Chinese workers of a Philippine offshore gaming operator to be tested at the subdivision’s clubhouse.

In a statement, BF Federation of Homeowner Associations Inc. (BFFHAI) president Arturo Astorga II said they allowed the testing with the health and safety of their constituents as their “primary considerations.”

“Many enclaves have practically lost monitoring and control of the influx of such residents (of whatever nationality) because as lessees, they are free to go in, out and around our subdivision,” Astorga said.

“We figured that mass testing would be a good opportunity for us to conduct (a) sort of an inventory so we would know some basic personal details... about them,” he added.

Astorga also insisted that there was a “pressing need to screen them so that we can prevent those who may be found positive with the virus from possible interaction or co-mingling with our homeowners.”

He also said there was the urgent need to test the POGO workers since many establishments would be opening once Metro Manila is under general community quarantine starting tomorrow.

Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said on Friday the city government has started an investigation of the testing since it was not notified.

He also said the testing was illegal because it should have been done at a Department of Health-accredited laboratory or clinic and not at a subdivision’s open space.

Astorga apologized to Olivarez and the city government but said there is no such requirement under the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) guidelines.

“All that the IATF required was the observance of the following protocol: there should be a medical doctor present during the testing activity and that the testing should be conducted by an accredited diagnostics company. These were complied with,” he said.

Astorga noted that the subdivision spans three cities – Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

“The mass testing activity was requested and initiated by a Las Pinas-based company and officer, involving Las Piñas residents who are foreign nationals living in our subdivision, Las Piñas side,” he said.

The subdivision’s clubhouse is on the Parañaque side.