House panel asks IATF, CAAP to hasten repatriation of stranded OFWs
Published Jun 27, 2020 12:00 am
By Ben Rosario
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has asked the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to hasten the repatriation of at least 167,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded abroad.
House of the Representatives (Facebook)
Committee chairman and Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor aired the appeal following a congressional briefing given by various government agencies on the plight of OFW’s affected by the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Defensor said government should also bring home immediately the bodies of OFWs who died from the dreaded disease and other causes.
In a separate statement, ACT CIS Partylist Rep. Nina Taduran warned that many of the stranded OFWs are “sick and dying.”
“They are getting depressed and are desperate for help. Let’s bring them home,” Taduran said.
Defensor said OFWs affected by mass layoff triggered by the pandemic have become desperate to go home.
“They are now low on funds, if they still have money. They rely on aid from our government and their host countries for food. We should bring them home as soon as possible,” Defensor said.
The partylist solon said leaders of the Lower House headed by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano have agreed to issue a strong appeal to the IATF and other concerned agencies to lift restrictions on repatriation flights and to arrange for additional transportation for the stranded OFWs.
The committee and House leaders are making the appeal a day after they inquired into problems plaguing the return of displaced and distressed OFWs.
Defensor said they learned that the IATF and CAAP have imposed a cap of 1,000 on the number of OFWs and other overseas Filipinos who could be flown home when about 24,000 returnees got stranded in Metro Manila three weeks ago.
However, CAAP officials denied imposing a limit, claiming they were just following guidelines set by the IATF.
Now that the 24,000 have been transported to the provinces upon orders from President Duterte, it’s time for the IATF and the CAAP to scrap their repatriation limit to allow for more workers to finally fly home, Defensor said.
“We can give priority to OFWs who have purchased plane tickets on their own or with the help of their employers and our government. There are thousands of them in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” Defensor said.
According to him stranded OFWs are barred from taking commercial flights due to the IATF prohibition.
“With go-signal from the IATF and CAAP for their flights, these workers can already be home in days. Many airlines, including Emirates and Qatar, are willing to accept them. Since they will fly commercial, they will be home at no cost to the government,” he said.
House of the Representatives (Facebook)
Committee chairman and Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor aired the appeal following a congressional briefing given by various government agencies on the plight of OFW’s affected by the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Defensor said government should also bring home immediately the bodies of OFWs who died from the dreaded disease and other causes.
In a separate statement, ACT CIS Partylist Rep. Nina Taduran warned that many of the stranded OFWs are “sick and dying.”
“They are getting depressed and are desperate for help. Let’s bring them home,” Taduran said.
Defensor said OFWs affected by mass layoff triggered by the pandemic have become desperate to go home.
“They are now low on funds, if they still have money. They rely on aid from our government and their host countries for food. We should bring them home as soon as possible,” Defensor said.
The partylist solon said leaders of the Lower House headed by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano have agreed to issue a strong appeal to the IATF and other concerned agencies to lift restrictions on repatriation flights and to arrange for additional transportation for the stranded OFWs.
The committee and House leaders are making the appeal a day after they inquired into problems plaguing the return of displaced and distressed OFWs.
Defensor said they learned that the IATF and CAAP have imposed a cap of 1,000 on the number of OFWs and other overseas Filipinos who could be flown home when about 24,000 returnees got stranded in Metro Manila three weeks ago.
However, CAAP officials denied imposing a limit, claiming they were just following guidelines set by the IATF.
Now that the 24,000 have been transported to the provinces upon orders from President Duterte, it’s time for the IATF and the CAAP to scrap their repatriation limit to allow for more workers to finally fly home, Defensor said.
“We can give priority to OFWs who have purchased plane tickets on their own or with the help of their employers and our government. There are thousands of them in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” Defensor said.
According to him stranded OFWs are barred from taking commercial flights due to the IATF prohibition.
“With go-signal from the IATF and CAAP for their flights, these workers can already be home in days. Many airlines, including Emirates and Qatar, are willing to accept them. Since they will fly commercial, they will be home at no cost to the government,” he said.