Dubai: Around 50,000 Filipinos from Dubai and the Northern Emirates have left the country since June for various reasons brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Philippine consul general Paul Raymund Cortes said during a Press briefing on Monday.
Cortes added the Philippine Consulate in Dubai has also provided free tickets and assistance to more than 2,600 distressed Filipinos, including 143 Filipinos who were repatriated on Saturday (October 31).
“Repatriation started in June and the Philippine Consulate has facilitated the return of Filipino workers and their families who were affected by the pandemic. Most of them returned home after they lost their jobs or were asked by the employers to go on a long furlough. Some decided to go home for good — after spending several years in Dubai — while others were stranded Filipino tourists and some took advantage of the amnesty programme by the UAE,” Cortes told Gulf News.
Gulf News has yet to get figures from the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi to have the complete number of Filipinos who have left the UAE since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Dh5.2M spent for tickets
Cortes recalled three repatriation flights were chartered by the Philippine government back in June and August while majority returned home via commercial flights by Emirates, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific.
The ticket price of a Dubai-Manila flight back in June was around Dh2,500, which went down to Dh1,600 at present. On the average, according to Cortes, the Philippine Consulate has spent around Dh5.2M for the tickets of over 2,600 Filipinos who went back home. The money was sourced from the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) funds of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
Free swab tests
Philippine Labour Attaché Felicitas Bay told Gulf News returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families were given free COVID-19 swab test upon arrival in Manila.
Bay clarified the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) did not discriminate whether or not returning Filipinos were members of OWWA. “They (OFWs) were just asked to show a proof of employment or their working visa,” Bay explained. Those who were not employed as migrant workers were required to pay for the swab test.
Free hotel stay and meals
Aside from the free swab test, returning OFWs and their families were also provided free hotel stay and meals during the quarantine period while they were waiting for the COVID test result. Those who had to return to the provinces were also given free transportation.
Speaking during a virtual forum in Manila on Monday, OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac Sadi: “We want to emphasise that the swab test being conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard at the airport is free. The specimen being brought to government laboratories is also free. The OFWs who are there (airport) need not pay anything,”
He advised arriving OFWs not to patronise those offering swab testing at the airport in exchange for a fee. “We advised our OFWs not to engage the offer at the airport to pay for the test,” he added.
According to Philippine media reports, returning OFWs were being charged up to Dh1,550 for the immediate release of their test results. Cacdac said there are still 5,200 OFWs who are still in hotel quarantine accommodations while waiting for their swab test results.
Assistance to OFWs
Meanwhile, Bay said the Philippine Labour Office in Dubai (POLO-Dubai) has disbursed a total of Dh15,786,250 as cash aid to 21,625 Filipinos in Dubai whose jobs were affected by COVID-19.
The cash assistance is part of DOLE-AKAP (Department of Labor and Employment-Abot Kamay Ang Pagtulong), a one-time financial assistance amounting to Dh730 for each Filipino benefeciay.
Bay noted around 98,000 Filipinos have applied for the cash aid since April 10. Her office is still evaluating some of the application but Philippine government has allotted a budget for only 22,000 recipients, she added.
Livelihood assistance
Bay added OWWA members who have returned to the Philippines for good can avail of a livelihood assistance program amounting to maximum of P20,000 (Dh1,520) while non-OWWA members who were lost their job can also avail of the National Re-Integration Center for OFWs program that can provide cash assistance up to P10,000 (Dh760). “They just need to show their displacement/ termination letter,” Bay noted.
Meanwhile, Cortes advised Filipino expats who lost their jobs “to work closely with their respective HR (human resources) personnel to ensure that they will get their end of service benefits (EOSB).
“Due diligence must be done by the workers and they must make arrangements with their HR. They (OFWs), may, however, avail of free legal consultation from the Philippine Consulate,” Cortes added
