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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte orders COVID-hit OFWs' repatriation from Hong Kong

Duterte orders COVID-hit OFWs' repatriation from Hong Kong

Published Mar 1, 2022 12:49 pm

The Philippine government will start repatriating overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), some of whom have been sleeping in makeshift tents in public parks after their employers turned them away for testing positive to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

A police officer requests foreign domestic helpers on their Sunday rest day to leave during an operation against people who fail to comply with social distancing measures in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok area on February 20, 2022, amid the city’s worst-ever coronavirus outbreak. (BERTHA WANG/AFP)

A group of Filipino workers there also reported that they are being shunned away by hospitals.

“The government will be mounting operations for repatriation services, which will be spearheaded by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

Andanar added President Duterte was saddened by the “unfortunate plight” of some OFWs in Hong Kong as a result of the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the Special Administrative Region.

The repatriation of OFWs will be spearheaded by Lorenzana, who is now closely coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong “for the deployment of government air assets, such as our C130s, and/or chartered commercial flights to be sent for those who want to be repatriated.”

Andanar said that the government will provide protection and assistance to OFWs in Hong Kong by ensuring and securing isolation facilities for their recovery.

In the past week, there were already 30 to 40 OFWs displaced and forced to stay in parks after they were rejected by their employers.

There are some 220,000 Filipino workers in Hong Kong. They constitute the largest ethnic minority in the Special Administrative Region.

Hong Kong has been experiencing a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases with the latest figure totaling 34,000 new cases.

Related Tags

Hong Kong OFWs covid-19 Delfin Lorenzana Martin Andanar Repatriation
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