The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said that the government’s decision to remove the mandatory quarantine facility requirement for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is a huge relief, especially in terms of government spending.
In a virtual forum, OWWA chief Hans Leo Cacdac stated that quarantine expenditures alone consume a significant portion of their budget.
“In terms of the budget, about PHP24 billion is being spent on the repatriation effort. Around PHP17 billion of the PHP24 billion in (quarantine) hotels. So it’s a great relief also in the pocket of the national government, given to us courtesy of the DBM (Department of Budget and Management). Of course, with the approval of the President. We are very grateful,” Cacdac said.
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Cacdac reported that as of Thursday, they had transported nearly 10,000 OFWs back to their home provinces under the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Resolution No. 159, which took effect on February 1.
“For the last three days…we transported nearly 6,000 OFWs to their home regions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao on February 1. The next day around 2,500 and yesterday, it was 2,000,” he said.
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Cacdac stated that the number of OFWs staying in quarantine hotels had dropped dramatically.
“This was a drastic reduction as compared to 7,000 just four days ago and around 9,000 two weeks ago,” he said.
As of posting time, only 1,500 unvaccinated OFWs remain in some hotels.
