MANILA — Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) traveling to or from the Philippines affected by Typhoon Ompong are each entitled to a PHP5,000 financial assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The cash aid was earlier announced during the Command Conference on Typhoon Ompong chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte in Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.
“The President has directed the DFA to prioritize the concerns of our overseas workers and in line with this, we are extending cash assistance of PHP5,000.00 to those who would be stranded in our airports or seaports while on their way to or from destinations abroad,” Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday night.
Cayetano said the assistance is similar to what the DFA extended to OFWs affected by the runway closure at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last month.
The DFA distributed more than PHP5.5 million in cash assistance to 1,104 overseas workers stranded in Manila by the runway accident involving Xiamen Air 737 at the NAIA.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said the cash assistance will be released by the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs to overseas workers, who may miss their travel to destinations abroad or their return to the country as a result of flight delays or cancellations.
Arriola said affected workers are required to personally submit copies of their travel documents and employment contracts when claiming the cash assistance.
The claims will be processed at the DFA main office along Roxas Blvd. and all consular offices nationwide starting Monday, as well as at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the Clark International Airport, the Mactan International Airport, and the Davao International Airport beginning Saturday. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)
