200,000 more OFWS due to arrive in five months — DILG

By Jeffrey Damicog, Manila Bulletin, 26 May 2020

The government is anticipating the arrival within five months of almost 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs because of the pandemic, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said on Tuesday.

“We are expecting another 45,000 OFWs arriving in the next 30 days and another 150,000 in the next four to five months,” he said during an interview over CNN Philippines.

“That’s the estimate of the OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) because we have already been receiving reports that some of their employers have closed shop and stopped business so they have to terminate the employment of our OFWs,” he added.

Densing said the government has already decided to no longer require arriving OFWs to undergo a 14-day quarantine and, instead, immediately have them undergo reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to determine if they are infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Once the PCR test comes out and it turns out negative, pauuwiin na po (they will be sent home),” Densing said.

“So, we will no longer require a 14-day quarantine for the OFWs primarily because ipi-PCR test na sila,” he added.

He assured that the National Task Force on COVID-19 is trying “to address right now how to get the results immediately and communicate it to the OFW for the purpose of getting the medical certification.”

The DILG is carrying out the directive of President Duterte to send to their respective provinces around 24,000 OFWs who underwent quarantine in Metro Manila for over 14 days.

Densing reminded local government units (LGUs) not to prevent OFWs from returning home to their respective provinces.

“Otherwise, we will send them (LGUs) a show cause order why they are not abiding or following the directive of the national government vis-a-vis the OFWs’ return to the local government units,” he said.

Densing said that all 24,000 OFWs have certifications that they underwent a 14-day quarantine and have negative results from RT-PCR tests.

“So, walang dahilan po ang local government unit para hindi tanggapin ang OFW (So, the LGUs have no reason to turn away OFWs),” he said.

“But we also leave it to the local government units if they have extra protocols to implement,” he added.