The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on Sunday reported that close to 280,000 OFWs had received cash aid under the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) through the 40 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
The AKAP financial assistance is a one-time P10,000 or $200 cash aid to OFWs whose incomes were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of October 2, DoLE said, it disbursed some P2.853 billion in AKAP funds to both on-site and repatriated OFW beneficiaries.
It added that AKAP has also approved 312,974 of the 637,873 applications for assistance received by POLOs and OWWA field offices.
DoLE said the one-time time financial grant to eligible OFWs was also ongoing in Israel where it has released its third tranche of AKAP beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the labor department said the government is also keeping tab of COVID-19 cases across the major Filipino overseas labor destinations.
Based on the reports submitted by the different POLOs to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, it was revealed that no OFW was afflicted with COVID as of yesterday in Malaysia and other southeast Asian countries, particularly Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.
DOLE said no COVID-19 infection among OFWs was also reported in Taiwan but two new positive cases were monitored in Singapore according to their POLO office there.
Three new cases were also noted in the Filipino community in Israel on September 3. Of the 68 OFWs afflicted with COVID, 56 have recovered and one death was registered.
In Tokyo, DoLE said no Covid-19 case was reported among OFWs as of September 30.
In Europe, 101 Filipinos were monitored as of October 2; two were negative, eight were positive, and six were reported dead while 85 have recovered.
Of the 14 monitored cases in France, six were reported dead and ight have recovered while five cases are being monitored in Portugal.
No Pinoys were reported afflicted with Covid-19 in Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Liechtenstein.
In the Middle East, Qatar posted 17 Filipino fatalities as of October 2. The number of POLO-verified positive cases involving Filipinos has increased to 3,132 OFWs, or an addition of nine in the last 24 hours, the Philippine Labor Office in Qatar reported yesterday.
In Los Angeles, no reported death among OFWs was noted as of September 30. According to POLO-LA, the health officials in the city said the number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected coronavirus inpatients fell to 483 on Saturday, among the fewest since early April; 5.
No OFW COVID case was also reported in Canada, according to the POLO in the North American region.