The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced Monday that 25,002 repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in quarantine facilities in Metro Manila have been sent home.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the immediate release of over 24,000 OFWs stuck in quarantine sites last May 25, after complaints of slow processing of mandatory Covid-19 testing results.
Of the 25,002 total, 9,595 were transported by air, 7,900 by land and 385 by sea, while 6,574 were picked up by relatives, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.
However, some 200 seafarers remained under quarantine in cruise ships as their test results had yet to be released.
On May 31, DOLE said 98,615 OFWs were stranded abroad.
The department said 36,625 OFWs have been repatriated since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, while 19,631 have unfinished contracts or need repatriation in the coming weeks. John Ezekiel J. Hirro