OWWA to provide cash, other benefits to OFWs stranded by travel ban
Published Feb 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Leslie Ann Aquino
The labor department on Monday said the government will extend assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the temporary ban on travel to China, Hong Kong, Macau and other declared affected areas.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (MANILA BULLETIN)
In a statement, the labor department said Acting Secretary Renato Ebarle directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to provide P10,000 cash assistance, accommodation, and transportation to each OFW stranded by the travel ban.
Ebarle issued the directive upon the instruction of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
In a memorandum to OWWA, Ebarle said the move will "help ease the burden on would-be departing workers, and assist them in their transport back to their places of origin."
He said those stranded will also be provided with accommodation at the OWWA halfway house while arrangements for their travel to the provinces are being made.
Hundreds of OFWs bound mostly for Hong Kong and Macau were stranded at Manila airports on Monday following the travel ban imposed by President Duterte as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the 2019 coronavirus (nCoV) that originated in Wuhan, China.
The move was also made following the first reported death from the virus in the country, the first casualty outside Chinese territory.
Meanwhile, the Blas Ople Center called on the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to formally inform the overseas employment sector about the travel ban and whatever contingency measures they have in mind to mitigate its impact on OFWs and their families.
"For starters, the POEA needs to convene its governing board (GB) to convert this travel ban into a temporary deployment ban while specifying the labor destination countries or territories to be covered. The GB Resolution should also indicate the category of workers to be affected," Blas Ople Center head Susan Ople said in a statement.
"This is critically important because these workers have foreign employers that also need to be informed about our government's decision. The POEA Governing Board resolution on the nCoV will help clarify these changes in policy given these extremely stressful and difficult times."
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (MANILA BULLETIN)
In a statement, the labor department said Acting Secretary Renato Ebarle directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to provide P10,000 cash assistance, accommodation, and transportation to each OFW stranded by the travel ban.
Ebarle issued the directive upon the instruction of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
In a memorandum to OWWA, Ebarle said the move will "help ease the burden on would-be departing workers, and assist them in their transport back to their places of origin."
He said those stranded will also be provided with accommodation at the OWWA halfway house while arrangements for their travel to the provinces are being made.
Hundreds of OFWs bound mostly for Hong Kong and Macau were stranded at Manila airports on Monday following the travel ban imposed by President Duterte as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the 2019 coronavirus (nCoV) that originated in Wuhan, China.
The move was also made following the first reported death from the virus in the country, the first casualty outside Chinese territory.
Meanwhile, the Blas Ople Center called on the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to formally inform the overseas employment sector about the travel ban and whatever contingency measures they have in mind to mitigate its impact on OFWs and their families.
"For starters, the POEA needs to convene its governing board (GB) to convert this travel ban into a temporary deployment ban while specifying the labor destination countries or territories to be covered. The GB Resolution should also indicate the category of workers to be affected," Blas Ople Center head Susan Ople said in a statement.
"This is critically important because these workers have foreign employers that also need to be informed about our government's decision. The POEA Governing Board resolution on the nCoV will help clarify these changes in policy given these extremely stressful and difficult times."