TACLOBAN CITY -- The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Eastern Visayas has started giving cash assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the travel ban due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), an official said on Friday.
Stranded OFWs bound for China and its special administrative regions are entitled to receive PHP10,000 cash aid meant to help ease their burden as “would-be departing workers,” said Katrina Obejera, OWWA Eastern Visayas labor communications office, in a phone interview.
However, she clarified that only those OFWs with OWWA membership record and flights between Feb. 2 to 9, 2020 can avail of the cash assistance.
As of February 6, OWWA has already assisted 12 OFWs in the region with nine workers for deployment to Hong Kong and three in Macau.
“We encourage them to personally visit our office and avail the aid. It is only one-day processing, the recipient can immediately claim the cash within the day,” Obejera said.
Requirements to avail the cash assistance include the Filipino worker’s plane ticket, valid passport, and an employment contract or work permit.
On February 2, the temporary travel ban was imposed as precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus that originated in Wuhan City in Hubei province, China.
Some 185 OFWs in the region bound for mainland China were stranded. The office has not yet obtained the number of stranded workers going to Macau and Hong Kong. (PNA)
