Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III. (File photo)
MANILA – Around 53,000 repatriated overseas Filipino workers are now with their families in their respective provinces.
During the send-off ceremony for some 200 migrant workers at the Paranaque Integrated Exchange (PITX) on Thursday, Labor Silvestre Bello III also vowed to bring repatriated OFWs to their respective homes within five days upon their arrival in the country.
“In compliance with President Duterte's order to facilitate the swift return of our displaced workers from abroad to their families, we are now sending them home in just five days maximum after they reach our ports,” Bello said in a statement.
The 200 OFWs at the PITX are among around 12,000 migrant workers who went through the faster and more convenient registration, testing, and transport process adopted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to provide them timely and appropriate service.
He added that an average of 200 to 300 OFWs daily are sent home to their provinces via the fast-tracked system.
Bello said they will continue to upgrade government service to migrant workers as more of them are seen to be repatriated in the immediate future.
Top government officials led by Senator Richard Gordon, who is also the head of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), attended the event.
The PRC is in charge of the swab testing program for OFWs who lost their jobs because of the pandemic.
The lawmaker lauded the DOLE for its relentless campaign to assist the migrant workers affected by the lockdowns abroad to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.
'I know Secretary Bebot (Bello). He has a big heart for our migrant workers," Gordon said.
The repatriated OFWs are transported to their provinces via air, land, and sea. (PNA)
