Ople assures stranded OFWs of assistance

Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople. (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople on Sunday assured stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) of assistance after their flights were canceled due to Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.

Ople also directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to identify the needs of OFW families displaced by the storm.

“We are continuously monitoring the impact of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng on our OFWs and their families. Right now, we are focused on assistance to OFWs stranded in various airports, unable to go home to their provinces or depart for work abroad,” she said.

As of Sunday, Ople said 87 OFWs bound for Israel have been assisted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the OWWA.

The OWWA also assisted seven OFWs stranded in various domestic airports, Ople said, adding that the agency provided flight rebooking assistance, hotel accommodations, food and airport transit to the affected OFWs in the cities of Ozamiz, General Santos, Tacloban, Iloilo, and Cotabato.

—TINA G. SANTOS

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