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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Open more airports for OFW return flights

Open more airports for OFW return flights

Published May 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Mario Casayuran  Senator Richard J. Gordon on Monday proposed the opening of more airports to allow more passenger flights to bring home overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the United Arab Emirates, most of whom are already unemployed and stranded there for months. Senator Richard Gordon (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Richard Gordon
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), wrote to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to propose opening the airports in Clark, Subic and Mactan to be able to accommodate more flights carrying OFWs. He pointed out that while the need for precautions prompted the government to impose a limitation of 400 arrivals a day at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the predicament of the OFWs should also be taken into consideration and their suffering should be 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 said in a letter to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., IATF’s chief implementer and his deputy, Vivencio Dizon, who is also President and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). Gordon assured that diverting flights to the airports in Clark, Subic and Mactan would pose little risk to efforts to combat the spread of the disease since PRC testing centers will be operational within the week in the said areas. There are also adequate hotel facilities. “I’m sure your prompt action would be greatly appreciated by our kababayan (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,” he stressed. The Philippine Embassy in the UAE earlier wrote to the IATF seeking assistance for the hundreds of OFWs who are unable to return to Manila. They have been stranded because Emirates and Etihad airlines cancelled several repatriation flights from Dubai to Manila after airports in the Philippines were temporarily closed to passenger flights due to the quarantine restrictions.
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