The latest batch of 2,667 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been sent back to their home provinces now brings the total to 136,509 OFWs who are now reunited with their loved ones back home.
Department of Labor and Employment Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III stated that all returning OFWs have been provided with assistance including accommodation, food, transportation, and Covid-19 testing for free when they arrived back in the Philippines.
DOLE affirms that they only send back OFWs once their test results confirm that they are negative from the coronavirus disease.
RELATED STORY: PH sends home more than 300 OFWs from Dubai
Bello has welcomed the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte of additional PHP5 billion for pandemic-affected Filipino workers abroad.
“With the additional funding, more OFWs will benefit from the program and even more Filipinos working overseas will be repatriated and provided with assistance,” he said.
READ ON: Duterte approves additional Php5 billion budget for DOLE for OFW assistance projects
Meanwhile, Bello also reported that overseas and local jobs await Filipino workers affected by the pandemic as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
Earlier, he said several contractors in Guam intend to hire more skilled Filipinos under the construction and maintenance job categories.
As for local employment, Bello added the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has also expressed demand for OFW returnees, especially those with a background in the fields of information technology and healthcare.
