ILOILO CITY, May 28 (PIA) – About 2,000 repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have returned to Western Visayas since April of this year the bulk of whom was accounted for by those arriving this week as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte ordered the expeditious mass transport of OFWs to their respective regions.
The OFWs have arrived in the region aboard Malasakit ship voyages and sweeper flights from Metro Manila through the seaports and airports in Iloilo and Bacolod, based on records of the Sub-Task Unit for Repatriation of OFWs of the Regional Task Force COVID-19 Western Visayas.
The bulk of the OFWs numbering more or less 1,500 arrived from May 25 to 27 following President Duterte’s directive.
Those who were transported back home have complied with the 14-day facility-based quarantine and yielded negative test results for COVID-19 while in the metropolis.
Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales, Special Concerns Officer for Region 6 of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, said at Wednesday’s MugStoria Ta! Virtual interview that Overseas Workers Welfare Administration-6 Officer-n-Charge Rizza Joy Moldes apprised him of the actions they are doing to assist returning OFWs.
The mass arrivals of OFWs have been properly coordinated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) with the local government units, according to Regional Task Force spokesperson lawyer Roy Villa.
However, Villa admitted in a media interview that the relatively huge influx of returning OFWs has been overwhelming.
He also acknowledged the efforts of OWWA and other concerned agencies for subjecting the OFWs to mandatory health protocols and processing before sending them to their respective provinces and or quarantine facilities.
The lead government agencies working out the sending home of OFWs from Manila include OWWA, Department of Transportation and Philippine Coast Guard. The RT-PCR tests of the OFWs are done by the Philippine Red Cross.
It will be recalled that based on protocols laid down by the Regional Task Force, the OFWs have to undergo mandatory health protocols and quarantine before they could rejoin their families.
Villa said they will address the concerns arising from this development in the task force. (JBG/JSC/PIA6 Photo by OWWA6)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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