The Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has revealed that employer disputes and loan cases are among the factors that impede the government to repatriate some distressed OFWs that have been stranded and affected due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III stated that these legal impediments hinder what would have been a swift process to send OFWs home.
“It really gets frustrating when foreign employers refuse to give the exit visas of our OFWs to stop them from returning to the Philippines. There are many employers like that abroad. Repatriation of OFWs also becomes difficult to achieve when they still have loans to settle and complaints to face,” revealed Secretary Bello.
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In addition, the Labor Secretary furthered that current COVID-19 situations that vary across the world have caused countries to either lock out all flights headed to the host country, essentially locking in all OFWs who wish to come home.
“In repatriating our OFWs, we also have to consider the lockdowns imposed by countries where they are working,” said Secretary Bello during a hybrid public hearing of the House Public Accounts Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Defensor on Friday regarding the challenges experienced by OFWs affected by the pandemic.
Secretary Bello stated bigger funding will not bring home displaced migrant workers in the absence of other equally important factors.
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House Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray “LRay” Villafuerte pushed for more funds to boost government efforts to bring home the trouble migrant workers, as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
Bello added that the best solution to the problem of OFWs is still the tightly coordinated efforts of all concerned government agencies and the private sector.
