Around 5,000 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine now need to return to their home in Visayas and Mindanao, an official from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Tuesday.
OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said he is coordinating with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to arrange mercy flights for stranded OFWs due to the enhanced community quarantine.
“Ang isang malaking issue… ‘yung mga OFWs na stranded dito, higit kumulang ang bilang nila ay aabot siguro ng mga four to five thousand ay kailangan makapanumbalik na sa Visayas, Mindanao kasi sila po ay mga nakakumpleto na ng 14-day quarantine dito,” he said.
According to GMA News, some OFWs could not return to their work due to the prevailing lockdown imposed by host countries such as Italy, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The OWWA administrator said he need to consult this Philippine Overseas Welfare Administration off hand as OFWs who are returning to the said countries might not be able to enter the host country even if they allow them to leave.
Cacdac assured that there is a transport service provided for returning overseas Filipinos affected by COVID-19 pandemic.
He stressed that the OWWA has provided support to nearly 6,000 sea-based and land-based OFWs affected by the health crisis.
The support includes transportation, food, and accommodation. They are also giving food packs to stranded OFWs and seafarers in dormitories and boarding houses.
Meanwhile, two planes carrying 600 OFWs from Kuwait will arrive in the country on Tuesday.
“We will all transport them to an accommodation facility and take care of them until such time na sila’y makakauwi sa kani–kanilang mga rehiyon o probinsya, kasi karamihan po sa kanila ay taga-Visayas, Mindanao,” he said.
