Around 4000 OFWs Sent Home To Provinces Says Labor Dept.
4000 OFWs SENT HOME – Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to send home some 24,000 OFWs stuck in Manila, around 4,000 of them are now to be sent home.
According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the 4,000 OFWs had completed the 14 day quarantine. Additionally, they also tested negative for the new coronavirus, COVID-19.
Based on a report from ABS-CBN, Bello stated that the government’s goal is to send 8,000 OFWs home daily from Monday to Wednesday. However, he noted that due to social distancing reasons, this number could be delayed:
Medyo kinapos kami. Unang-una kinapos kami ng bus,” Bello told DZMM. “Alam mo naman social distancing
As per the report, the 4,000 OFWs were sent home in 21 bus trips along with 18 chartered flights. But, Bello said that the government would double the number of buses used to transport the OFWs.
Furthermore, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said that the government would also utilize ships to to send home OFWs.
Recently, Duterte ordered concerned agencies of the government to send home 24,000 OFWs. This was following reports that many have been stranded in Manila for 2 months as they await results of their swab tests.
Additionally, the Philippines is expected to welcome home around 300,000 OFWs due to struglling industries abroad.
Currently, the Philippines has reported more than 14,000 cases of COVID-19. However, due to the lack of mass testing, experts believe that this may be a small fraction of the actual number of cases in the country.
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