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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Party-list group seeks single-dose vaccine for Filipino seafarers

Party-list group seeks single-dose vaccine for Filipino seafarers

Published May 29, 2021 12:10 pm

The MARINO Party-list has called for the immediate acquisition of Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose vaccines for Filipino seafarers and other land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to expedite their deployment.

In this file photo taken on February 23, 2021, vials of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by China's Sinovac firm, are displayed in Bangkok, as the first batch of vaccines to battle the COVID-19 coronavirus arrive in the kingdom. (Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)

In a hearing held by the House of Representatives' Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA) last Thursday, May 27, MARINO Party-list Second Representative Macnell Lusotan said that out of the total number of distressed migrant workers repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) since last year, around 48 percent are willing to be redeployed, and there should be a vaccine that does not require a second dose to shorten their application process.

“While the government agreed to change the prioritization status of our OFWs from B5 to A4, one of the conditions is they must be deployed within two months upon completion of the vaccination. However, we are still waiting for the arrival of the second dose of vaccines from several brands which may affect the duration of our seafarer’s deployment schedule,” Lusotan said.

He further proposed to appropriate the remaining funds from the Department of Labor and Employment’s Abot-Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program to the deployment needs of OFWs who are currently processing their documents to return abroad instead of solely disbursing it as a financial aid to our migrant workers.

“Assisting our OFWs through funding their pre-deployment activities has a multiplier effect. As soon as we can send them back to work, they can resume providing for their families, increase the country’s dollar remittances and improve the economy, and encourage local startup businesses for their relatives who are in the Philippines,” he added.

The party-list group in January called for the prioritization of seafarers in the government vaccine program.

"It's not just the Philippine economy which needs OFWs and our seafarers to deploy, it is the world economy. The sooner our countrymen are able to deploy, the sooner they can contribute to the global economic recovery," MARINO Party-list First Representative Sandro Gonzalez said.

Related Tags

OFWs covid-19 House of Representatives seafarers covid-19 vaccine
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