MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has committed to provide repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Lebanon free medical examination and hospital admission, if needed.
The DOH said it would make available medical consultations and psychological first aid free of charge to the OFWs and their dependents arriving from the heightened conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The agency also added that OFWs needing hospital admission and follow-up consultations would not need shell out money from their own pockets.
“The DOH recognizes the need to support both physical and mental health needs of the OFWs as they lived in a state of constant fear amid the conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Forces,” the DOH said in a social media post.
A total of 45 OFWs from Lebanon arrived last Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 through the Philippine government’s voluntary repatriation program.
Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, together with Health Emergency Management Bureau director Bernadett Velasco and the National Center for Mental Health, led the post-arrival assistance and assured support for the OFWs.
Government efforts to repatriate OFWs and their dependents from Lebanon have been ongoing.
As last Thursday, 525 OFWs had been safely brought home from Lebanon since the government’s voluntary repatriation program was introduced almost a year ago, according to the Department of Migrant Workers.