President Rodrigo Duterte said the government must ensure that returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would experience a “comfortable” return to the country.
In his recorded public address, Duterte acknowledged the contribution of overseas Filipinos in the country’s economic growth.
“Make their reentry dito sa (to the) Philippines as comfortable as possible,” Duterte said. “And magagastos tayo simply because this is the time that we can — magbayad tayo sa kanila. We can repay them for their sweat working and sharing their income with our government and ultimately with the people.”
“We are sacrificing time, effort, lahat (everything), because we have to inform the people of what is going on,” Duterte underscored.
According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, around 545,745 OFWs were repatriated since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is seeking a supplemental budget of Php9.8 billion to cover the food, transportation, and accommodation expenses of displaced migrant workers.
OWWA Adminstrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency is waiting for the release of Php5.2 billion initial supplemental budget from the Department of Budget and Management.
He said they are handling the arrival of at least 2,000 OFWs daily, or as many as 60,000 OFWs in a month.
