Labor agencies to discuss plan for OFWs stranded by COVID-19 travel ban —group

Concerned government agencies will formulate a plan for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are stranded due to the travel ban over the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the head of the Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines said Wednesday.
These agencies include the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the  Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines president Alicia Devulgado said POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III will be present in the meeting.
“We will be having a dialogue with POEA Administrator Olalia and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III tomorrow with OWWA,” Devulgado said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
“Siguro po malalaman natin kung ano po ‘yung plan of action natin,” she added.
Devulgado said that the association is concerned about OFWs whose visa and employment permits are about to expire amid the ongoing travel ban.
On the dialogue, Devulgado said they will ask these agencies for an inventory of affected OFWs and definite figures relating to the issue.
Under the travel restrictions imposed by Malacañang, travelers coming from China, Hong Kong, and Macau are temporarily barred from entering the Philippines.
On Monday, the Department of Health clarified that the Philippines’ temporary travel restrictions also cover Taiwan. — Joviland Rita/BM, GMA News

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