25,000 done, 42,000 more to go. Authorities brace for influx of more home-bound OFWS
FOLLOWING the decongestion of quarantine facilities in Metro Manila and Batangas last week, the government has reopened airport gates for the homecoming of more overseas Filipino workers (OFWS), who mostly lost their jobs abroad due to the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it was able to successfully send home over 25,000 OFWS, who were quarantined in the last two months.
Most, or 17,785, of the said OFWS were sent home by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in coordination with other concerned government agencies, while the remaining 6,576 were “turned over” to their respective local government units or relatives.
The large-scale operation of the government to reunite the said OFWS with their loved ones was lauded by the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines, the Associated Philippine Seafarer’s Union and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
Higher capacity
CHIEF implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 retired Gen. Carlito Galvez announced they will be increasing the maximum number of returning OFWS per day.
From the previous 400 to 600 per day, he said they will now allow 1,000 to 1,500 to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport daily.
To note, the National Task Force Against Covid-19, which is led by Galvez, pushed for the restriction on arriving OFWS since there were only a small number of accommodations were available for them in Manila.
Galvez said the completion of the task to send home the OFWS after tests and quarantine period is proving to be timely, especially since the task force is expecting the arrival this month of another 42,000 OFWS, who will need to undergo and wait for the result of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests before they are allowed to return to their hometowns.
The Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved the testing requirement to ensure all of the OFWS will be Covid-free, when they go home.
Alternative gateways
TO prevent the re-occurrence of OFW congestion in NCR, the Department of Transportation (DOTR) is considering diverting some of the returning OFWS to other airports in the country.
Galvez said the Clark International Airport is expected to be the first of such alternative airport this week.
“We will be opening this week the Clark [International Airport for this purpose] since it has the testing capacity,” Galvez said during an online news briefing on Monday.
He said they will open the international airports in Cebu, and Davao and General Santos for the same purpose once the necessary Covid-19 testing capacity becomes available in the said aviation gateways.
LGU opposition
WHILE movement of OFWS in the country via planes will soon be made easier, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, it won’t be the same for domestic travelers.
Citing reports from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap), he pointed out some LGUS are still “refusing to admit passengers of domestic flights” out of their concern some of them may be infected with Covid-19.
In its previous issuance, the IATF allowed the resumption of commercial f lights between areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
As of Monday, all areas in the country are either under GCQ or modified GCQ.
Galvez said they are currently consulting with concerned LGUS to restore domestic air travel.