Repatriated OFWs amid COVID-19 pandemic breach 800,000-mark

MANILA, Philippines — More than 800,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have returned to the Philippines since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported on Sunday.

“Many of our OFWs became helpless when the pandemic struck and so the government launched a massive repatriation drive never done before,” Bello said in a statement.

Citing records of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Bello said that as of November 28, a total of 809,374 OFWs were transported back to their home regions after undergoing quarantine protocols and receiving assistance from the government.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, most of the repatriates are pandemic-affected workers and displaced OFWs affected by lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic left 125 million workers unemployed, the International Labor Organization said.

Under the government’s repatriation program, OFWs returned to the country through chartered flights. They then underwent COVID-19 testing as well as quarantine in hotels.

“As long as we have migrant workers who want to go home but can’t do so because of difficulties due to the pandemic, we will continue the repatriation program,” Bello said.

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