A parent of a student studying in the Philippines has appealed to the government to establish “a clear line of communication” so that parents can access accurate information on the status of their children.
Paul Naeson whose son is studying in Manila made the appeal, Wednesday. He told Solomon Star; “the amount of false information received and later reported to be false by students still in the Philippines is unsettling to parents.”
Like other parents, Mr. Naeson said he eagerly awaits his son’s return.
He said his son had gone through two Coronavirus tests which returned a negative result, but young Naeson is finding himself having to “correct false information” his father queried him about.
“I contacted my son to ask about the six new positive cases that were reported, only to be told that he was not aware of this and to his knowledge this was untrue, and the same was said about other misconduct claims.
“Many of us as parents feel that the more our children are in the Philippines, the higher the risk they face in contracting the virus. Dialogue on how to best expedite this process quickly and safely is needed.”
Mr. Naeson said he and other parents are stressed over what he described as “the broken information link” and requested that a clear line of communication be established by the government so that parents can check and cross information coming out from the Philippines, particularly through the social media.
“We want this done as soon as possible to avoid being fed misinformation, which only adds to our stress,” Mr. Naeson said.
“We believe the Government is doing the best they can, and appreciate the arrangement of repatriation flights. Our only hope is that our children are brought back safely,” Mr. Naeson said.
BY TERENCE ZIRU
Gizo News Bureau