By Leslie Ann Aquino
A total of 81,388 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were provided with cash, food, and medical assistance by the Department of Labor and Employment through the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in 40 foreign posts.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano said 3,637 OFWs from Asia and the Pacific received food and medical relief, 66,271 from the Middle East and Africa, and 9,403 from Europe and Americas.
As of Friday (May 29), the POLOs also distributed food packs to 28,179 OFWs in Kuwait, 9,358 in Jeddah, and 7,723 in Qatar.
The POLOs in the United Arab Emirates reached out to 3,437 OFWs, with Abu Dhabi having 1,820 beneficiaries and Dubai 1,617.
According to DOLE, OFWs who were found COVID-positive were also given $200 cash assistance by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Of the 2,077 COVID-positive OFWs onsite that received the cash assistance, DOLE said, 1,937 are land-based and 140 are sea-based.
The Labor department also said Lebanon registered the highest number of COVID-19 positive beneficiaries at 1,104.
"The DOLE, through its POLOs worldwide, will continue its intensified campaign to help all onsite OFWs affected by the pandemic which has reached more than 320,000," Arellano said in a statement.
The POLOs are also continuing to facilitate the immediate repatriation of the stranded OFWs from various host countries affected by displacement and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOLE, through its POLOs, has so far assisted in the repatriation of more than 36,000 workers.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano said 3,637 OFWs from Asia and the Pacific received food and medical relief, 66,271 from the Middle East and Africa, and 9,403 from Europe and Americas.
As of Friday (May 29), the POLOs also distributed food packs to 28,179 OFWs in Kuwait, 9,358 in Jeddah, and 7,723 in Qatar.
The POLOs in the United Arab Emirates reached out to 3,437 OFWs, with Abu Dhabi having 1,820 beneficiaries and Dubai 1,617.
According to DOLE, OFWs who were found COVID-positive were also given $200 cash assistance by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Of the 2,077 COVID-positive OFWs onsite that received the cash assistance, DOLE said, 1,937 are land-based and 140 are sea-based.
The Labor department also said Lebanon registered the highest number of COVID-19 positive beneficiaries at 1,104.
"The DOLE, through its POLOs worldwide, will continue its intensified campaign to help all onsite OFWs affected by the pandemic which has reached more than 320,000," Arellano said in a statement.
The POLOs are also continuing to facilitate the immediate repatriation of the stranded OFWs from various host countries affected by displacement and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOLE, through its POLOs, has so far assisted in the repatriation of more than 36,000 workers.