2,302 Hong Kong OFWs receive $200 COVID 'after care' aid
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said over 2,000 overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong who tested positive for COVID-19 have received an “after care” financial aid worth $200 (around P11,166).
In a statement dated July 9, the DMW said it received separate reports from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong (POLO-HK) that 2,302 OFWs have already received their COVID financial assistance benefit.
OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said another batch of 2,192 Hong Kong OFWs will each get their $200 aid in the coming days.
The Omicron variant caused the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections in Hong Kong earlier this year.
Non-government organizations earlier logged about 100 Filipino domestic workers who ended up homeless after their employers kicked them out of their houses after getting infected.
READ: More than 100 displaced OFWs rescued as COVID wave hits Hong Kong — NGOs
However, the Philippine Consul General to Hong Kong Raly Tejada later on said that only three to five Filipino domestic workers were fired by their employers.
Tejada told the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs in March that the consulate was able to talk to the domestic workers’ employers and “many of them have taken them back and some have come to an arrangement.”
READ: Situation for OFWs in COVD-hit Hong Kong not that bad, House panel told
On Saturday, the DMW said Hong Kong-based OFWs who are OWWA members may apply for special cash assistance if they were infected with COVID-19.
"Requests for assistance are evaluated in accordance with the OWWAs guidelines," the DMW said.
The DMW said the government will also provide OFWs food packs, hygiene kits, and temporary shelter should the migrant workers need it.
Meanwhile, OFWs in other countries may also seek help, such as the “Covid After Care Financial Assistance,” from the government through the POLO office or the embassy in their host country.
"Getting sick with COVID-19 while you are alone overseas and without a support network to assist you can be very demoralizing for our OFWs. We should be able to reach out to them, let them know and feel that [the] government is beside them in their battle with this dreaded sickness," DMW Secretary Susan Ople said.
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