Pandemic slashes OFW deployment by 75%

MANILA, Philippines — The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a 75-percent drop in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), an impact assessment report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed yesterday.

The IOM report, based on interviews with over 8,000 returned OFWs, said the 75 percent drop in deployment in 2020 was also the country’s lowest labor export output in over three decades.

The report, part of the IOM’s global response to COVID to better understand the challenges as well as the needs of migrant workers, also reflected Philippine government statistics that nearly 800,000 OFWs had returned to the country by the end of December 2020.

It showed that 67 percent of the assessed OFWs’ decision to return was due to COVID-19, while a significant 83 percent of OFWs were unemployed for an average of three months post-arrival.

It also reported that almost half of the OFWs interviewed had a 60 percent drop in their household income upon their return.

“The ongoing global COVID-19 crisis and border restrictions continue to have an adverse impact on human mobility with migrant workers,” said Kristin Dadey, IOM Philippines chief of mission.

The IOM noted how the pandemic disrupted global aviation and movement of people as countries suspended flights and curbed the entry of foreigners.

“Understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on OFWs and their families is critical to identify emerging gaps in migration governance and international cooperation adhering to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Findings of the report could support key stakeholders in developing migrant-centered policies and programs with the most recent and relevant information,” Dadey said.

As coordinator and secretariat of the United Nations Network on Migration in the Philippines, IOM has conducted various studies on the impact of COVID-19 on migration to support policymakers and has provided direct assistance to the government’s repatriation efforts.

“COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges for OFWs and highlighted their existing vulnerabilities. There is a particular need to leverage data and analysis collected into policies that will fill existing gaps in migrants’ welfare and safety,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, the UN’s resident coordinator and chair of the UN Network on Migration in the Philippines, echoing the significance of the report.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Hans Cacdac expressed appreciation to IOM and the UN Network on Migration in the Philippines for their efforts and cited that the report is useful especially in responding to unforeseen crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

14-day quarantine a must

Meanwhile, returning OFWs were urged to strictly comply with the mandatory 14-day quarantine to prevent the possible spread of foreign variants of COVID-19 in the country.

Speaking at the virtual Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum last Wednesday, OCTA Research fellow and University of the Philippines-Manila vice chancellor Dr. Michael Tee stressed that some of the foreign variants do not present themselves with symptoms in an infected person.
Tee said he understands complaints from OFWs who are only in the country for a short period of time, but they could be unaware that they are carrying the viral illness.

“Our message to OFWs is that they should comply with the government-mandated quarantine… It is a necessary action,” he said, citing data from the Philippine Red Cross showing that only 243 out of the more than 10,000 returning Filipinos who tested positive for the virus exhibited symptoms.

“These patients may be the ones carrying the variants that we would like to prevent from entering the country,” he added, referring to the more transmissible COVID-19 variants first detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and India.

Tee also underscored the need to further strengthen biosurveillance to ensure that COVID-19 variants do not spread in the country.

Under the latest guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, inbound travelers shall be observed for 10 days in a quarantine facility and, if tested negative for COVID-19, would have to complete four more days of home quarantine under the monitoring of the respective local government units of their destination. – Janvic Mateo