File photo courtesy of DoLE
It has been customary for Overseas Filipino Workers to celebrate Christmas with their families in the Philippines.
But since the onset of covid pandemic, many OFWs have been facing financial problems.
There are those who became jobless or partially employed because the operations of their employers’ businesses have been limited by protocols or, went bankrupt and totally stopped.
No reason to worry.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Sunday, assures OFWs of the country’s continuing repatriation program.
He said that for “as long as we have migrant workers who want to go home but can’t do so because of difficulties due to the pandemic, we will continue the repatriation program.”
As of November 28, 2021, Bello reported that returned OFWs have breached the 800K mark since the start of covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Records from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), showed that a total of 809,374 OFWs were transported back to their hometowns following quarantine protocols and were given assistance by the government.
“Many of our OFWs became helpless when the pandemic struck and so the government launched a massive repatriation drive never done before,” Bello explained.
Under the program, OFWs were brought back into the country via chartered flights arranged and paid for by the government.
Upon arrival, they were accommodated in hotels for quarantine and Covid-19 testing.
“Once cleared, our OFWs were transported home to their respective provinces,” Bello said.
An overwhelming majority who have returned consisted mostly of pandemic-affected workers and displaced OFWs due to lockdowns that crippled world economies.
The labor secretary said the period covering November 15 to December 12 of 2020, recorded the highest number of OFWs who were sent home to regions, or a total of 56,925 migrant workers.
“This year, the highest was for the period October 17 to November 13 with 45,703 OFWs returning to their own families,” he said.
Bello said the lowest was on November 25 this year with 1,622 migrant workers.
Data from the International Labour Organization showed that the pandemic has sent over 125 million workers unemployed worldwide.
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