DOLE says quarantined OFWs not barred from airing concerns to media, socmed
MANILA, Philippines — Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) undergoing quarantine in government-accredited facilities should not be disallowed from entertaining media interviews and posting on social media, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday.
“Hindi dapat ginagawa ‘yun dahil unang-una kasalanan na natin na natagalan sila (Not allowing them to grant media interviews should not be done because first of all, it is through our faults that they have stayed in quarantine sites for too long),” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo on Wednesday when asked to comment about reports that some OFWs in quarantine centers are barred from giving media interviews and posting on social media of their feedback about the quarantine.
“We will call the attention of whoever is responsible pero hindi po dapat nangyayari ‘yan (but this should not happen),” Bello added. “The least that we can do is make life comfortable for them.”
Over 24,000 OFWs who have finished their quarantine in government-accredited sites were recently sent back by the government to their home provinces.
Bello added that DOLE was originally expecting over 42,000 OFWs to return to the country amid the coronavirus crisis by June but labor attachés reported that only 16,679 have so far secured permits.
Around 191,000 of 340,000 OFWs whose jobs were adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic opted to not return to the country since they are still hoping to find work abroad, according to Bello.
