Labor Secretary Bello says over half a million overseas Filipinos displaced by COVID-19
MANILA – The global COVID-19 pandemic affected 647,827 overseas Filipinos who could not earn a living because they lost their jobs or were prevented from reporting for work.
Speaking at over President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Talk to the People” Monday night. Secretary Bello said there were 8,874,472 Filipinos working or living abroad where 3,497,261 were documented and some 1,589,684 undocumented Filipinos worldwide.
“From these figures, 3,797,527 are permanent migrants who may no longer entertain thoughts of returning to the Philippines,” he said. He added the Philippine government has repatriated 519,566 Filipinos from different parts of the globe.
He said there are still 49,000 Filipinos undergoing the repatriation process while 78,519 opted to stay in their job sites because most of them have already been inoculated.
“With many of them getting the jab, the chances of getting rehired remain high,” Secretary Bello told President Duterte. Many of those who opted to stay abroad are in Roe, Madrid, United Kingdom, Germany among other countries.
However, he disclosed 19,148 OFWs have been infected with COVID-19 and as many as 950 of them died. Speaking of recoveries, Secretary Bello said 10,466 have fully recovered.
“The Department of Labor and Employment through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) assisted 343,743 OFWs amounting to P3.499 billion,” he further said. (Melo M. Acuña)
Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III. (Screen Grab from Talk to the People/April 19,2021/Melo M. Acuna)
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