(Eagle News) — Over 400,000 overseas Filipinos have been transported back to their provinces under the government’s Hatid-Tulong program.
The Department of Transportation said the 401,322 OFWs who benefited from the initiative were as of January 8.
Of the figure, 23,452 were transported by land, while 209,185 were brought back to their provinces using air transport.
OFWs transported by sea were at 68,685.
The DOTr said the data for land and air transport covers May 25, 2020 to January 08, 2021.
Data from sea transport covers April 27, 2020 to January 08, 2021.
The DOTr said the Hatid-Tulong Program is a joint initiative with the Office of the President, National Task Force Covid-19, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Also joining in the initiative are the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Tourism (DOT), among others.