BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 30 – Few days before the year 2020 closes, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration – Regional Welfare Office (OWWA RWO) Caraga has recorded a total of 9,309 returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) including their dependents that have been assisted by its ongoing repatriation assistance beginning April 29, 2020.
Of this number, 2,040 were residents of Butuan City, 1,838 from Agusan del Norte, 1,615 from Agusan del Sur, 1,590 from Surigao del Norte, 1,854 from Surigao del Sur, 181 from Dinagat Islands, and 191 from Misamis Oriental (Region X). The said OFWs also adhered to all the established health protocols before they are allowed to board the plane and vessel that includes, Bureau of Quarantine Certificate yielding negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test results to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Upon arrival at any port of entry near the Caraga region, free meals, food packs, transport assistance, and temporary shelter were provided to those OFWs who had to wait for their transport service to be arranged by their local government units concerned for onward travel to their home provinces, subject to the minimum required public health standards.
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered mass repatriation of OFWs to the Philippines. While many of the repatriated OFWs lost their jobs, they also included those contracts had ended, distressed workers who were staying in shelters, and those returning home for a vacation. OFWs who came home temporarily were also caught up by the various quarantine requirements, and in addition, they were stranded in the Philippines pending the availability of flights back to their countries of employment.
To meet the various needs of the arrivals of the returning OFWs, OWWA RWO Caraga has coordinated with the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Office of Civil Defense, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), other members of the Regional Task Force for COVID-19 One Caraga Shield and most importantly the provincial and local government units here in Caraga region. (OWWA Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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