Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III vowed to send the 24,000 stranded OFWs in quarantine facilities to their home provinces in three days’ time.
“Hindi namin paaabutin ng isang linggo. Sa loob ng tatlong araw, pipilitin namin na mapauwi ang ating mga kabababayan na nahihirapan na sa quarantine facilities,” Bello said in an TV interview in the News TV.
His statement came after President Rodrigo Duterte gave one-week ultimatum for the Department of Labor and Employment, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Department of Health to send the 24,000 OFWs back to their home provinces.
The OFWs included are those who have tested negative for the novel coronavirus and finished with the mandatory 14-day quarantine but remained stranded in Manila since their certificates allowing them to go home is yet to issued by the Bureau of Quarantine.
“Tatapusin namin sa loob ng tatlong araw at the rate of 8,000 OFWs per day. By air, by land, by sea, lahat ng facilities, we will make available for them para makauwi na sila,” the labor secretary added.
Bello said that the timeline will start on Monday.
