24,000 quarantined OFWS to go home

THE Department of Labor and Employment announced that close to 24,000 OFWs under mandatory quarantine and whose swab or RCT-PCR tests are negative will be sent home from May 25 to 27, 2020.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said that, upon instruction of President Rodrigo Duterte, the composite team of Philippine Coast Guard and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will arrange in the next three days for daily trips for 8,000 OFWs via the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange and the NAIA Terminal.

“This is part of President Duterte’s commitment to the safe return of OFWs to their families, as arranged by the Philippine government. The OFWs need to present their quarantine passes from the Bureau of Quarantine or from the PCG's negative list from COVID-19 to qualify in the return program,” he said.

Starting today, bus trips to Bicol, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, CAR, and Central Luzon will be made available while flights to Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Bacolod, Davao, Cebu, Iloilo and Zamboanga will be arranged until Wednesday.

More bus rides and flights will be made available for the OFWs. A One-Stop-Shop will be located in the bus and flight sites to ensure the speedy arrangements for this program.

The 3-day OFW Return Program is provided by President Duterte to ensure the safe return of those repatriated OFWs under mandatory quarantine to their families and loved ones amid the COVID-19.