310 distressed Filipino workers from Cambodia and Vietnam were brought home by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
A total of one hundred forty-three Filipino workers from Vietnam arrived in Manila around 4 p.m. through a chartered Philippine Airlines flight. Another one hundred sixty-seven landed in Manila around 3 p.m from Cambodia through a chartered AirAsia flight.
One of the distressed OFW from Cambodia is Miguelitodela Cruz. He worked as a staff in a casino who recently shut down. If not job loss, other OFWs who left Cambodia were forced to have unpaid leaves, visa-related concerns and the ‘no work no pay’ arrangement due to COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the DFA, the repatriation of these Filipinos from Cambodia and Vietnam became successful thanks to the coordination of the Philippine embassies.
On Saturday, a total of 1,173 Filipinos came back to the Philippines, 863 of them were Filipino seafarers from Miami.
“We will bring back distressed Filipinos wherever they are,” says Sarah Lou Arriola, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs.
Upon the arrival of these seafarers, they had undergone a health screening conducted by the Bureau of Quarantine as the Philippine Coast Guard took them on their designated quarantine facility.
They will only be allowed to return home after the end of their quarantine period.
Aside from distressed Filipino workers from Vietnam, the flight also took home 160 kilograms of personal protective equipment (PPE) that came from the Pinoysa Hanoi Group.
Filipinos who wish to return to the Philippines amidst this global pandemic will be assisted by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
