CLOSE to 100,000 overseas Filipino workers have been flown home with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs after losing their jobs since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DFA Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. said 41,981 seafarers and 54,247 land-based OFWs or a total of 96,228 have returned to the country in the absence of other opportunities to earn abroad — and more are coming in by the day.
“Since the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, the DFA has been working day in day out to bring home overseas Filipinos. The DFA has facilitated the repatriation of about 96,228 overseas Filipinos. This is from yesterday …probably another thousand today,” he said.
Locsin said the DFA has turned down the allocation of more fund and has instead diverted other programmed funds to pay the cost of flying home stranded OFWs as other economies shut down.
“When this broke out the President asked me, ‘Do you need more money?’ I said, ‘No we work with what we have.’ As a result of that we are cancelling all our repairs, all our retrofitting, all our capital outlays, in order to use all our money to bring our people home,” he said.
He pointed out that the operation to herd together OFWs then shelter, feed and secure them flights home cost a hefty sum.
“The DFA, and Philippine embassies and consulates general around the word have arranged the repatriation and chartering of flights. The DFA provided standby funds for emergency supplies, medical assistance, food and accommodation for overseas Filipinos severely affected by COVID-19,” he added.
Likewise, the embassies and consular offices shelled out funds to pay immigration penalties and other related charges, including exit visas in cases where the OFW no longer has any means to meet the cost, much less afford a plane fare.
“The DFA will continue this repatriation effort as long as there are Filipinos who want to come home,” Locsin said.
