Over 118k repatriated OFWs return home, less than 2% test positive

Over 118,211 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated since May 15 have returned home and only less than two percent tested positive for coronavirus.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has provided food, transport, and accommodation for the returning OFWs.

As of July 29, over 6,000 displaced OFWs in the Ilocos Region received PHP10,000 cash subsidy under DOLE's AKAP program.

The OWWA officer-in-charge regional director said they have received over 13,000 applications for the program and around 7,000 are still pending approval.

Qualified applicants must be job-displaced due to a lockdown or community quarantine in their receiving country or infected with COVID-19.

Some 6,856 OFWs from the region have been repatriated as of July 29, and 15 tested positive for coronavirus; however, 10 have already recovered.