Recruitment, manning agencies ordered to assist OFWs after airspace shutdown
By GMA Integrated News
The Department of Migrant Workers on Tuesday ordered private recruitment agencies (PRAs) and licensed manning agencies (LMAs) to monitor and assist overseas Filipino workers affected by the recent flight disruptions due to air traffic management system technical issues.
“All PRAs and LMAs are hereby instructed to monitor and assist affected OFWs. Further, all PRAs and LMAs are directed to assist affected OFWs in explaining the cause of such delays to principal and employers to ensure that workers' employment are secure and unaffected,” DMW Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople said in an advisory.
“Likewise, the PRAs and LMAs are directed to submit the necessary reports on affected workers at the soonest possible time,” she added.
Ople said all other forms of assistance extended to OFWs are also highly appreciated.
At least 282 flights were canceled, diverted, or delayed on New Year's Day as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) recorded a technical issue at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) at 9:50 a.m. Some 56,000 passengers were affected at the NAIA.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio, meanwhile, rejected the possibility that the system had been hacked, saying that it was the most well-secured facility at the agency.
Apolonio said all of the 44 CAAP-operated airports except NAIA have returned to normal operations as of Monday morning. — Richa Noriega/BM, GMA Integrated News
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