Bello: Kin of OFWs who died from COVID-19 to get P750K-P900K insurance benefits

MANILA, Philippines — Families of overseas Filipino workers who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are entitled to receive P750,000 to P900,000 worth of insurance benefits, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said on Friday.

“They are entitled to bereavement benefits at tsaka itong insurance. Medyo malaki-laki ang insurance dahil hindi natural death ‘yung kanila, may infection, so aabot ‘yan siguro mga P750,000 to P900,000 maliban sa kanilang death and burial benefits from OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration),” Bello said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(They are entitled to bereavement benefits and insurance. Their insurance is quite high because they died due to infection to the virus, so it may reach P750,000 to P900,000, excluding their death and burial benefits from OWWA.)

The Philippine government is set to bring home the remains of 301 OFWs from Saudi Arabia, including 152 who died from COVID-19.

However, the remains may not be repatriated as scheduled as the plane that was charted for the flight back to the Philippines may not be available on July 4.

The government of Saudi Arabia gave the Philippines until July 4 to bring back the remains of OFWs. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay earlier said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases is seeking to have the deadline extended.

As of July 2, a total of 561 Filipinos abroad have died due to COVID-19, including three in the Asia Pacific, 94 in Europe, 296 in the Middle East and Africa, and 168 in the Americas. A total of 8,614 Filipinos overseas have contracted the virus.

/MUF