Malacañang assured Friday hotels hosting quarantined overseas Filipino workers that they will be paid after all paperwork is settled.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after it was reported that the debt of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to hotels serving as quarantine facilities for repatriated OFWs has reached P250 million.
In a virtual presser aired over State-run PTV-4, Roque said that OWWA has paid 10 percent of its debt to hotels.
"Mahigit P2.3 million na po ang nabayad sa iba't ibang mga hotel (OWWA has already paid more than P2.3 million to different hotels)," he said Friday.
Roque assured hotels that they will be paid, explaining that the process of paying them may have taken quite some time because of the process that needed to be followed.
"Lahat naman po 'yan, lahat ng billings ng mga hotel, ay binubusisi, nagre-reconcile, bini-verify sang-ayon po sa standard CoA procedures (Everything, including hotel billings, are being scrutinized, reconciled, and verified based on the standards of the Commission on Audit),” he said.
"'Wag po kayong mag-alala, may pera po tayo diyan. Meron lang talagang mga paperwork at mga valuation na kinakailangang gawin bago mabayaran (Don't worry, we have the money to pay you. There are just some paperwork and valuation that needed to be done before you can be paid)," he added.
Christine Ibarreta, president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, confirmed in an interview with CNN Philippines that OWWA delivered the initial payment for its debt last Wednesday.
According to Ibarreta, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered OWWA to settle the remaining balance within the week.
The Hotel Sales and Marketing Association had earlier reported that some hotels have sought the payment so they could continue paying suppliers and employees. It also warned that non-payment may force the closure or the suspension of the operations of these establishments.