NEARLY 50,000 Filipinos have been repatriated since the national government started in February its repatriation program because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Department of Finance (DFA) announced Saturday, June 20.
According to the agency, a total of 49,520 overseas Filipinos have been successfully brought home.
Of this number, 28,816 or 58.2 percent are sea-based overseas Filipinos while 20,704 or 41.8 percent are land-based.
The DFA said most of the latest repatriates arrived from Canada, Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Overseas Filipinos who wish to be repatriated are requested to signify their interest to the nearest embassies or consulates general in their area,” the DFA said.
In May, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. warned that the big influx of arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may result in a possible spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.
He noted that the OFWs were coming from countries like the United States (US), Italy, Spain, and parts of the Middle East which are widely hit by the virus.
In a Laging Handa public briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that the government is polishing its policies for locally stranded individuals and returning OFWs.
“Ngayon po ay talagang nirerepaso at binubuo natin ang polisiya para sa locally stranded Individuals dahil ang ating mga existing protocols ay para po sa mga returning OFWs at overseas Filipinos,” Roque said.
“Sa ngayon po ang proseso ay kukuha sila ng medical certificate bago sila pauuwiin at pagdating po sa probinsya nila kung mayroong kakayahan na PCR testing dapat i-PCR testing, kung wala po ay diretso po sila sa 14-day quarantine,” he added.
He said the government will allot polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing kits for locally stranded individuals.
“Napag-usapan po ito kahapon sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) at napagkasunduan na kapag dumating na po iyong mga in-order nating mga PCR testing kits ay puwede naman pong i-subject din sa PCR testing ang mga pauwi na mga locally stranded individuals,” Roque said.
Fourteen lawmakers from Eastern Visayas earlier appealed to the government to review its Hatid Probinsya program after a spike in Covid-19 cases in the region. Most of the cases involve locally stranded individuals and OFWs who have returned home. (Jove T. Moya/SunStar Philippines)