By Leslie Ann Aquino
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has launched an online portal called "Uwian Na" to expedite the return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in quarantine facilities to their respective hometowns.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
"It's a registration procedure for transport home for those who are negative in the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test results and are in OWWA quarantine facilities," OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said in a video message.
"This is for the purpose of expediting the return process," he added.
Earlier, there have been complaints from some repatriated OFWs of being unable to leave the quarantine facilities despite already testing negative for COVID-19 and having completed the 14-day mandatory quarantine period.
Through the uwianna.owwa.gov.ph portal, Cacdac said OWWA will be able to organize the OFWs into different batches depending on their destinations.
"This is so we can group you depending on your destination so we can organize the booking or chartering of flights, and also so we know in which hotel you will be fetched," he said.
To register, OWWA said one must have both qualifications: included in the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) list of OFW repatriates with RT-PCR Negative Results and staying in a hotel provided by OWWA. Those who register must fill out the registration form on the website.
OWWA said the OFW will then receive an acknowledgment email confirming their registration, with instructions regarding their travel arrangements.
There are more than 8,000 repatriated OFWs presently quarantined in OWWA-run facilities.