Govt initiative sends 300 OFWs home quickly

Around 300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were sent back to their home provinces on Thursday, June 18, as part of a new government initiative to fast-track repatriation.

The initiative aims to send repatriated OFWs to their families within a maximum of five days after their arrival in the country.

DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III led the send-off ceremony at the Paranaque Integrated Exchange (PITX), emphasizing the order from President Duterte to speed up the process.

The OFWs included in this batch arrived in Manila three days prior and tested negative for COVID-19 through swab tests conducted by the Philippine Red Cross.

One OFW shared that he arrived on June 15, underwent swabbing immediately, stayed in a hotel in Pasay City while awaiting results, and received them via email.

The National Task Force on COVID-19 had previously announced the five-day processing target for repatriated Filipinos.

As of the previous day, a total of 53,000 repatriated OFWs have been reunited with their families, with an average of 200 to 300 OFWs being sent home daily under the expedited system.