Filipinos in Turkey seek inclusion in US$200 financial assistance for OFWs
By Roy Mabasa
Filipinos in Turkey, including the undocumented and those who were displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, are appealing to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to include them in the government’s one-time US$200 financial assistance program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide.
This was relayed by Philippine Ambassador to Ankara Raul Hernandez during the “Laging Handa” briefing of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) on Thursday, saying that Filipinos in Turkey were not included in the list of recipients of the financial aid from DOLE.
In the interview, the Filipino diplomat appealed to DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III to include Filipinos in Turkey amid the challenges they are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Currently, there are a total of 69,392 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey with more than 1,500 deaths. Turkey has so far conducted almost 445,000 tests.
According to Hernandez, one Filipino national has tested positive for the virus and is now undergoing treatment in one of the state hospitals in Turkey.
He said the Embassy is now preparing a plan to repatriate some of the Filipinos there especially the undocumented and those who lost their jobs pending the green light from the home office in Manila.
Members of various Filipino organizations in Turkey, as well as employees and staff of the embassy in Ankara, are making their own contributions to provide distressed Filipinos with food assistance.
As of January, 2020, there are 3,063 Filipinos in Turkey, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.