Malacañang: 22,426 out of 24,000 OFWs sent to their home provinces

Malacañang says 22,426 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who had stayed in quarantine facilities for around two months are on their way back to their home provinces as of Saturday.

“Of 24,000 OFWs, 22,426 are on their way home via plane, bus and ship, and all of them were paid for by the government through the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA),” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Tagalog.

Roque said the OWWA, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Health (DOH) have only until Sunday, May 31, to send the remaining 1,574 OFWs to their home provinces.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the OWWA, DOLE and the DOH to speed up the release of OFWs who had been stranded in Metro Manila for more than two months despite getting negative results in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for COVID-19.

Migrante International meanwhile criticized the government over what it called garbage-like treatment of OFWs.

Roque fired back at Migrante, saying the OFWs were treated well as they were given free accommodation and food.

He added that the OFWs spent nothing when they were sent to their home provinces.