100,000 Pinoys face repatriation

MANILA, Philippines — More than 100,000 Filipinos abroad are facing repatriation in the coming months after losing their jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, President Duterte said in his report to Congress last Monday.

“Barring any complications, this would bring the total number of repatriates to 93,675. However, due to the continuing impact of the pandemic, the number of repatriated Filipinos could reach 100,000 or even higher in the coming months,” the President’s report said.

In the same report, he said cruise line companies have reported that 29,963 more seafarers are expected to be repatriated.

The foreign service posts of the Department of Foreign Affairs have indicated that another 17,830 land-based OFWs have signified their intent to be repatriated.

Duterte also said P 1.5 billion has been released for the first tranche of funding assistance under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program-Abot-Kamay ang Pagtulong (CAMP-AKAP) program.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) oversees the distribution of the assistance to affected workers, through the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) and the DOLE regional offices.

The government reported delays in the distribution due to varying bank regulations in countries of destination, while some overseas banks limit daily bank transactions, restricting the payouts by the POLOs to the beneficiaries.

The government also noted that lockdowns and strict curfew imposed in most Middle Eastern countries also explained some of the delays.

The President also said in his report to Congress that overseas Filipino health workers who returned to the country are covered by CAMP-AKAP. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is processing online applications.