A top Philippine labor official was impressed with Dubai’s swift recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an online briefing, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Cacdac narrated that he witnessed first-hand that life in the emirate is almost back to normal.
Cacdac, along with labor secretary Silvestre Bello III and other Philippine labor officials, went there for labor meeting with Gulf nations.
The OWWA cheif said that Dubai’s economic bounceback spurred significant rehiring and employment of most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs during the onslaught of the pandemic.
“That also means na iyong trabaho ng OFWs natin ay restored na rin sa pangkalahatan. Ang ibig sabihin lang nito ay hindi na natin nakikita katulad noong 2020 na bumagsak talaga iyong numero noong umuwi,” he said.
(That also means that the work of OFWs has been restored. We don’t see anymore the drop in returning OFWs like in 2020.)
He lauded the UAE leadership for making “a tremendous effort in bringing back their economies to life.”
Another strong indication, he said, is the growing number of OFWs wanting to fly home for a vacation.
In general, the number of OFWs globally who want to spend their holidays in the Philippines is nearly back to the pre-pandemic level.
“Ang tantiya namin ay hindi ganoon kalaki ang kaibahan noong pre-pandemic sa uuwi ngayong Pasko. Kasi nga sabi ko ay hindi na rin unusual na may umuuwi na magbabakasyon lamang. Kasi nag-resume na ang economic life abroad,” the OWWA chief said.
(Our estimate is that the number of OFWs going home for Christmas is not far from before the pandemic. OFWs returning home for vacation is no longer unusual since economic life abroad has resumed.)
