OWWA ready to evacuate 20,000 OFWs in S. Korea

MANILA, Philippines—The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said Tuesday that its contingency plans were in place and that it was ready to evacuate Filipinos from South Korea if tensions with North Korea over its plan to launch a new rocket escalates into a full-blown crisis.

“We are quite ready [for possible evacuation]. We are now checking on our database on the workers deployed in South Korea. If it’s needed, the government is ready, the OWWA is ready,” OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon told reporters in a phone interview.

Dimzon said there are 19,876 active OWWA members in South Korea. She admitted, however, that there is an undetermined number of illegally staying Filipinos there.

Her message to OFWs in South Korea and their families here:

“Our government is in control of the situation. In times of crisis, there are provisions for repatriations and all that’s needed can be provided. All the contingency measures are in place so there is no reason for them to fear even their families.”

Dimzon said those who might be displaced from South Korea can be assisted by OWWA in seeking new jobs in other countries. They could also choose to become beneficiaries of the government’s P2-billion reintegration program which among others, teaches OFWs extra skills, grants them microfinancing schemes, or trains them to become entrepreneurs.