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Duterte orders LGUs to accept returning OFWs back to home provinces

Government agencies in the Philippines continue to collaborate in their aim to send more than 24,000 OFWs back to their respective provinces following the directives of President Rodrigo Duterte.
President Duterte ordered all relevant government agencies to exhaust all efforts, including government resources and modes of transportation to ensure that OFWs who have been staying at quarantine centres for many weeks are sent home within one week.
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The president has also ordered all local government units to accept returning overseas Filipino workers back to their homes, reiterating that only the national government can impose restrictions on travel.
RELATED STORY: President Duterte allows use of ships, planes from AFP to send OFWs back to provinces
“I’m ordering you to accept them, open the gates of your territories and allow the people — and allow the Filipino to travel wherever they want,” Duterte said in a public address late Monday night.
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President Duterte warned local officials that they could face criminal charges for refusing to accept OFWs after their mandatory, facility-based 14-day mandatory quarantine.
“It is the constitutional right of people to go home — to travel and go home. Do not impede it. Do not obstruct the movement of people because you run the risk of getting sued criminally,” he said.
READ ON: PH anticipates return of 300,000 OFWs this 2020
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Starting May 25, thousands of OFWs have been sent home through land, sea and air travel with the collaborative efforts from government agencies including the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Office for Transportation Security (OTS), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

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