DMW assists OFWs stranded due to Paeng
MIGRANT Workers Secretary Susan Ople Sunday said the Department of Migrant Workers (DMWs) has extended assistance to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stranded by airline cancellations caused by Tropical Storm “Paeng.”
The Secretary also directed OWWA to identify the needs of Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW) families displaced by “Paeng.”
“We are continuously monitoring the impact of Typhoon Paeng on our OFWs and their families. Right now, we are focused on assistance to OFWs stranded in various airports, unable to go home to their provinces or depart for work abroad,” Ople said.
“Moving forward, the DMW through OWWA will assist the families of OFWs who have been severely affected by ‘Paeng,’” she added.
As of Sunday, Ople said 87 OFWs bound for Israel have been assisted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the DMW.
The Secretary said POEA helped the OFWs rebook their flights and is coordinating with their employers in Israel. The 87 caregivers were previously hired under the POEA’s government to government placement program. Seventy of these OFWs were provided hotel accommodation through OWWA while the rest were either fetched by relatives or returned to their homes.
Ople also said OWWA assisted seven OFWs stranded in various domestic airports. The agency provided flight rebooking assistance, hotel accommodations, food, and airport transit to the affected OFWs in the cities of Ozamiz, General Santos, Tacloban, Iloilo, and Cotabato.
Acting OWWA Administrator Atty. Mary Melanie “Honey” Hernandez Quiño says OFWs in need of assistance due to flight cancellations and other concerns may contact the OWWA through the following access points: On Facebook @OWWA Cares; Kabayan Helplines: +63 915 079 5005, +63 969 169 7068,+63 966 473 9543 and Hotline: +632 1348.
