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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Gordon urges IATF to allow OFWs stranded in UAE to return to PH

Gordon urges IATF to allow OFWs stranded in UAE to return to PH

Published May 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Jel Santos Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman Richard Gordon urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) was to allow more passenger flights carrying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been unemployed and stranded for months in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Senator Richard Gordon (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Richard Gordon
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In a letter, Gordon, who is also a senator, proposed to the IATF that it open the airports in Clark, Subic, and Mactan to accommodate more flights repatriating OFWs. Despite the limitations being imposed by the government on flights, he asked that the predicament of the OFWs be taken into consideration and their suffering alleviated. “I’m aware that we have to take precautions, but I think it would not be a problem if we allow more flights to come in and distribute them to other airports such as Clark, Subic, and Mactan,” Gordon stated in his letter to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., IATF’s chief implementer. The PRC chairman said diverting flights to the airports in Clark, Subic and Mactan would pose little risk to efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease because PRC testing centers will be operational within the week in those areas, adding that they also have hotels that can be used as quarantine facilities. “I’m sure your prompt action would be greatly appreciated by our kababayans (countrymen) in the Middle East whose suffering would be alleviated because they will be able to come home to their families. It must be very hard, being stranded and jobless in a foreign land, far away from your loved ones and unsure of where to get money for your next meal and other daily needs. I have also received emails pleading for help about their situation,” Gordon said. Earlier, the Philippine Embassy in the UAE earlier wrote to the IATF seeking assistance for the hundreds of OFWs there who are unable to return to Manila. The OFWs, according to the PRC, have been stranded because airlines Emirates and Etihad cancelled several repatriation flights from Dubai to Manila after airports in the Philippines were temporarily closed to passenger flights due to the pandemic.
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