(Eagle News) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has formed task groups to facilitate the speedy return of overseas Filipino workers from quarantine facilities to their respective residences.
In a statement, the DOLE said that Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered the formation of “hatid probinsya” and “balik-abroad” task groups to separately process the requirements of outbound land and sea-based workers.
“Aside from facilitating the processing of inbound and outbound OFWs, the ‘hatid-probinsya’ and ‘balik-abroad’ task groups will serve as monitoring offices for onsite OFWs and those seeking repatriation”, the DOLE statement said.
Likewise, Bello designated additional personnel from the DOLE’s regional and attached agencie to beef up the manpower of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The labor secretary said that the government did not intend to inconvenience returning OFWs with prolonged quarantine and delayed test results, and that “DOLE and OWWA simply had no control over the testing and issuance of clearances.”
Eagle News Service