By Roy Mabasa Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday said he is “deeply disgusted” with reports that Filipino domestic helpers are getting fired from their jobs due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and called for their immediate repatriation to the Philippines. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit / MANILA BULLETIN) “We’ll prepare for their repatriation pronto. Deeply disgusted with Hong Kong which begged us to let domestic workers return to work,” Locsin said in a portion of his tweet. Locsin was referring to his earlier recommendation to lift the travel ban to China’s administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau following the COVID-19 outbreak, citing in particular, Hong Kong’s better facilities to handle the disease. But prior to seeking President Duterte’s approval of the lifting of the travel ban, Locsin said he talked to Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian to get an assurance that the returning OFWs to Hong Kong and Macau would get similar treatment as the locals amid the spread of the disease. “I extracted promise from the Chinese ambassador that they’d be given same protection from COVID-19 as HK residents,” he said. On Feb. 18, through Locsin’s intervention, Malacañang lifted the ban allowing Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to return to their employers in Hong Kong and Macau provided they sign a written declaration that they are aware of the risks in going back to their respective workplaces. However, a report published by the South China Morning Post detailing the dismissal of several foreign domestic workers, including Filipinos, saddened the DFA secretary. “Very sad to read this. We’ve done good by you, Hong Kong. We expect you to do good by our people,” Locsin said in a social media post. To date, there are at least two Filipinos found positive with COVID-19 in Hong Kong.