NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, February 28, that so far, there are no Negrense overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stuck in Ukraine as the country faces more violent clashes following a Russian invasion of the eastern European country.
Lacson met with Sally Barrios, who is the Capitol’s OFW representative, and discussed the crisis last week.
"So far, there are still no reports of Negrenses affected or who have left Ukraine," he said, adding that they already coordinated with the provincial office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) regarding the matter.
The local office of the line agency is also coordinating with their central office for a list of all OFWs in Ukraine.
“Only then we will know if there are from Region 6, specifically Negros Occidental,” the governor said.
For its part, the City Government of Bacolod is also coordinating with Owwa-Western Visayas to determine if there are Bacolodnons affected by the crisis in Ukraine.
Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda, cluster head of sectoral concerns, said Monday, February 28, that they already forwarded their letter to agency through its provincial office that has yet to reply.
As of Monday, none of the Bacolod residents have so far sought their help to rescue their relatives in the embattled European nation, Pineda said.
“We will wait for the report of Owwa to determine the number of the Bacolodnons who are working in Ukraine (and) we are here to support them,” he said.
Pineda noted that the City Government is willing to assist the repatriation of city residents from Ukraine.
For those who have concerns about their relatives working in Ukraine, Pineda said they may coordinate with the city’s OFW office at the old city hall.
He said the repatriated OFWs will be given livelihood support through the “Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay” program.
As of February 25, the Owwa confirmed they have evacuated 38 OFWs.
The OFWs were met by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. at the border between Poland and Ukraine.
Poland has also agreed to take in Filipinos from Ukraine even without a visa according to Locsin.
More than 40 OFWs have also been evacuated from Ukraine's capital Kyiv and are currently staying at the city of Lviv.
An estimated 181 Filipinos have also been confirmed to be living in Ukraine.