MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday it will extend PHP5,000 to each of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who were not able to depart due to canceled and delayed flights caused by the stuck Xiamen Air aircraft at the international runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from late Thursday night to Saturday noon.
“We are releasing a reasonable amount from our Assistance to Nationals Fund, as we understand that a number of our kababayans remain stranded and do not have funds to meet their daily needs,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.
The financial assistance will be released to the OFWs starting Wednesday (Aug. 22) afternoon until Friday (Aug. 24) afternoon.
Those affected and who are still in the country may personally claim the cash assistance at the DFA-Office of Migrant Workers Affairs (OMWA) in DFA Roxas Boulevard Building or at OMWA offices at NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3.
Meanwhile, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said the claimant must present their airline tickets showing the original dates of departure; the reissued tickets showing the new dates of departure; employment contracts; and their overseas employment certificates.
The DFA has also instructed the embassies and consulates abroad to issue certifications and make representations with foreign employers if there’s a need to explain to foreign employers the OFWs’ delay in arrival.
Cayetano assured that the DFA, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, have been working together to address the concerns of stranded migrant workers. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)
