DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has so far facilitated the repatriation of some 96,228 distressed Filipinos since the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic broke out, DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said Wednesday.
Of the number, Locsin said 41,981 are seafarers while 54,247 are land-based Filipino workers, most, if not all, lost jobs overseas as economies continue to suffer from the pandemic.
"Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the DFA has been working day in, day out to assist our overseas Filipinos following the instruction of President Duterte to bring home any Filipino who wants to come home," he said during a pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum.
The official noted that the agency will continue this repatriation effort as long as there are Filipinos who want to return.
"When the president asked (if we) need more money, I said, 'No, we work with what we have,' and as a result of that we are cancelling all our repairs, all our retrofitting, all our capital outlay in order to use our money to bring our people home because that is what the president wants," he said.
In the same forum, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reaffirmed the government's commitment to protect and ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad by providing various forms of assistance.
As head of the Security, Justice and Peace cluster, Lorenzana also reported that the DFA has already established six new foreign posts including the Consulates General of Nagoya in Japan, Barcelona in Spain, Istanbul in Turkey, and Melbourne in Australia. (PNA)
