40,000 OFWs expected to return due to COVID-19 pandemic

Approximately 40,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are expected to return to the Philippines due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the total expected returnees, around 25,000 are sea-based OFWs and an estimated 20,000 are land-based.

OFWs must complete a 14-day mandatory quarantine and two negative RT-PCR Covid-19 swab test results before being allowed to go home.

However, some OFWs have been waiting for weeks or even months at quarantine facilities for their swab testing schedule, with complaints of unresponsiveness and disorganization from the OWWA.

These OFWs have already undergone a month-long quarantine in Dubai before their departure for the Philippines.

OWWA previously stated that mass testing among OFWs would soon be conducted, with additional swabbing centers becoming operational.

Additional buses may be provided to transport OFWs to and from swabbing centers, and once cleared, they will receive certificates of completion of quarantine and negative test results.