P5B allotted for OFW quarantine facilities

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has allocated another P5 billion for the repatriation and mandatory facility quarantine of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), which has been extended to 10 days, Malacañang announced on Thursday.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the additional allocation was necessary because of the government’s growing expenses for the quarantine requirements for the OFWs.

The period for the facility-based quarantine was earlier extended as part of efforts to prevent the entry of COVID-19 variants.

—LEILA B. SALAVERRIA