Repatriated OFWs surpass 29,000

The number of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has breached the 29,000 mark.

The figure hit the mark after Philippine Airlines flight PR 683 arrived on Saturday with 352 Filipinos who were employees of the Nasser S.

Al Hajri Corp. in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Terminal 2, the repatriates underwent thorough documentation and briefing on current safety protocols prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases as well as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing.

The OFWs are temporarily housed at Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ)-approved facilities for their mandatory quarantine while they await the results of their RT-PCR tests.

Through coordination with the Department of Health BOQ, Department of Labor - Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Transportation - Manila International Airport Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Tourism, Philippine National Police, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and other members of the private sector, the DFA facilitates repatriation efforts for OFWs.

‘Inadequate assistance’

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has chided the OWWA for what he said was its inadequate assistance to OFWs who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s time for OWWA to really help our OFWs. I appeal to you to go all-out to help ease the problems of our countrymen abroad,” Drilon told radio station dwIZ in an interview last Saturday.

He said he will file a resolution to look into the plight of the OFWs and how the OWWA was assisting them.

The senator prodded the OWWA to provide more services to OFWs using its

P20-billion trust fund, as he found it “insensitive” that the agency seems to be more concerned about their return of investment than helping OFWs cope with the pandemic.

The P20-billion trust fund came from OFWs themselves and was not for investment purposes, but to help them in times of crises, according to Drilon.

“If the OWWA is able to help our OFWs, that is also an investment, because if they find another job overseas, they can send remittances again to their families, and that will help our economy,” he said.

Around 50,000 OFWs are expected to return to the country in June, and the OWWA is asking the government for additional funding to assist them, fearing that their trust fund would be depleted.

The senator, however, stressed that the OWWA does not need any augmentation of its budget from the national government as it can use its trust fund pooled primarily from the $25 membership contributions of OFWs.

The OWWA has 1.6 million as of 2017 data.

Drilon said the agency can tap into its trust fund to provide financial and livelihood assistance to OFWs affected by the pandemic.

Aside from this, the agency receives an annual subsidy from the national government.

The OWWA has a total budget of P1.58 billion under the 2020 General Appropriations Act.

The senator said he is saddened that OFWs are not being provided with sufficient support from the government in this most challenging time.

He added that the OWWA should provide more for OFWs during this trying time and give them small livelihood to be able to continue to provide for their families.