Contingency plan ready for Pinoys in Taiwan – DMW

MANILA, Philippines — The government has prepared a contingency plan to repatriate Filipinos in Taiwan should tensions between the island nation and China further escalate, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said yesterday.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency has regular communication with Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) head Silvestre Bello III on the status of Filipino communities in Taiwan.

“Definitely, we are prepared with the contingency plans,” Cacdac said at a news forum in Quezon City.

Tensions engulfed Taiwan after China conducted military drills, where Navy ships and aircraft surrounded the island.

There are around 153,000 Filipinos in Taiwan, 90 percent to 95 percent of whom are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), according to Cacdac.

The newly reappointed DMW ad interim chief declined to disclose details of their repatriation plan so as not to put at risk the security and safety of Filipinos in Taiwan.

“I just won’t disclose the details because I also don’t want to sound the alarm. I don’t want to make OFWs and their families worry at this stage,” he said.