DOLE to send home 24K OFWs under quarantine in 3 days

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) vowed to send home around 24,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stuck in quarantine centers in Metro Manila starting Monday upon the instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the OFWs whose swab or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results are negative will be sent home in the next three days under the OFW Return Program.

Under the program, the government will be providing land and air transportation for Filipino workers who were repatriated back to the country affected by the pandemic.

He added that a composite team from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will arrange the daily trips for 8,000 OFWs a day via the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) and the NAIA Terminal.

The OFWs only need to present their quarantine passes from the Bureau of Quarantine or from the PCG’s negative list from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to qualify in the return program.

Starting Monday, bus trips to Bicol, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Central Luzon will be made available.

Also, flights to Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Bacolod, Davao, Cebu, Iloilo, and Zamboanga will be arranged for flights until Wednesday.

He added that a One-Stop-Shop will be located in the bus and flight sites to ensure the speedy arrangements for this program.

The program is provided by the President to ensure the safe return of OFWs to their families and loved ones amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Mismong si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang nag-utos na bilisan ang pagpapauwi sa 24,000 na Overseas Filipino Workers na nag-negatibo na sa COVID-19.

Ayon kay Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, binigyan ng pangulo ng isang linggo ang OWWA, DOLE at DOH para asikasuhin ang pagpapauwi sa mga OFW sa kani-kabilang probinsya, kasama na ang mga naghihintay pa ng resulta ng kanilang test.

Dumagsa kasi ayon kay Roque ang reklamong natatanggap ng pangulo na maraming OFWs ang lagpas-lagpasan na sa 14 na araw na quarantine pero hindi pa makaalis sa quarantine facilities.