Concern for OFWs
THE government would do well to help our troubled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong (HK), where there’s a surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
Reports said COVID-19-infected Filipino migrant workers in HK appealed for immediate government assistance after some of them were dismissed by their employers.
Worst, some of these terminated OFWs were reportedly denied admission to HK hospitals, forcing them to just stay in parks, according to Migrante-Hong Kong.
Official records show that of the estimated 220,000 Filipino workers in the Crown Colony, a Chinese special administrative region, 90 percent are domestic helpers.
Thus, we cannot overemphasize the importance for the government, through concerned offices, to heed the OFWs’ appeal for help amid the COVID-19 surge.
What’s needed is for the authorities to come up with measures designed to ensure “na hindi na muling lolobo ang bilang ng mga nagkakasakit ng COVID-19 sa bansa.”
“Sa totoo lang, inaasahang papunta na tayo sa tinatawag na ‘new normal’ dahil mukhang na-kontrol na natin ang pagkalat ng nakamamatay na virus,” a health worker said.
Instead of seeking employment in the oil-rich Middle East countries, our women prefer to work as household workers in Hong Kong, which is near the Philippines.
If our migrant workers refuse to return home despite Hong Kong’s worst-ever COVID-19 outbreak, then the government ought to ensure their health and safety.
Pero kailangang siguraduhin nating huwag magkaroon ng virus upsurge sa Pilipinas.
