The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or OWWA announced that it is prepared for the influx of returning overseas Filipino workers this Christmas.
OWWA chief Hans Cacdac told GMA News on Sunday that there is enough accommodation for OFWs ahead of the Christmas season.
So far, there are 12,000 to 13,000 OFWs currently staying in government-sponsored hotel facilities. Over 9,000 are in Metro Manila’s 178 hotels.
Cacdac said that there was a time when the number of OFWs in quarantine facilities reached 15,000 which can be considered to be on the red alert level.
“Aside from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the government has already established several international ports of entry, such as the ones in Laoag, Clark, Subic, Cebu, and Davao,” he said.
Cacdac said that based on the latest IATF resolution, fully-vaccinated travellers must undergo facility-based quarantine with swab testing on the 5th day.
Cacdac says that the government spends an average P15,000-P20,000 per OFW. The agency has also requested an additional P7.5 billion peso budget for repatriation funds of returning OFWs until the year end.
