ManilaTimes-July 21
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) opened on Wednesday its One Repatriation Center (One Repat-DMW) to provide immediate response to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). “In the past, OFWs and their loved ones had to knock on the doors of several government agencies to ask for help. It’s heartbreaking to see families from the provinces traveling all the way to Manila, incurring needless debts and expenses, and dealing with long periods of anxiety while waiting for the response from government agencies,” DMW Secretary Susan Ople said. “Now, the DMW will be the one that will work to help our OFWs and if necessary, bring them back to the country to be with their loved ones. Families of OFWs will only need to coordinate with one agency for the shipment of remains, or the repatriation of stranded or exploited OFWs. And we will be the ones to call the families,” she added.The center allows walk-in requests for assistance. Ople said the center will work closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs, particularly in locations where the Philippines has no labor attaches. Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, over 3.835 million Filipinos have returned to the Philippines from abroad, 2.347 million of which were OFWs. During the same period, the remains of 7,157 Filipinos that died overseas were repatriated to the Philippines, 645 of which have succumbed to Covid-19. Read more at: https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/07/21/news/national/migrant-workers-dept-opens-repatriation-center/1851705
