AROUND 800 individuals stranded in Metro Manila amid the Covid-19 pandemic were given shelter and aid by the government.
In an online press briefing on Monday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said 764 locally stranded individuals (LSI) were brought to Villamor Air Base Elementary School and Philippine State College of Aeronautics, while waiting for their transportation back to their hometowns.
He said 379 of the LSI were already sent home.
Roque said 150 of the remaining LSIs were transported on Monday to Davao and General Santos via ship, the OPV Gabriela Silang, while another 150 of them were able to take a Cebu Pacific flight also bound for Davao.
Prior to their transfer, the LSIs were waiting for their flights at the terminals 1 and 2 as well as the expressway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), sparking worry that exposure to the elements would make them vulnerable to disease. Roque said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided 633 sleeping kits and sanitary kits to the LSIs who stayed at the Villamor Air Base.
DSWD also provided P2,000 financial aid to 539 of the LSIs in the said facility. The government started prioritizing sending home the LSIs last week after the reported death of Michelle Silvertino.
Silvertino died after waiting for five days at a footbridge in Pasay for her bus ride back to Bicol. She had walked from Cubao to Pasay for this purpose.
Returning OFWs
In a related development, Roque said the government was also able to send home a total 50,105 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which spearheaded the repatriation frenzy since lockdowns began around the globe, has been caught in the middle lately, as authorities, citing absorptive capacity of the local testing and quarantine systems, have suspended inbound flights a few times. Ten cruise ships with thousands of Filipino crew members were also anchored for weeks at Manila Bay, for the same reason.
Of the 50,000-plus OFWs repatriated, figure, 8,922 were sent to their homes by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other concerned agencies from May 15 to May 24, 2020.
OWWA reported it was able to bring 25,002 OFWs back to their home towns from May 25 to 31.
To recall, President Duterte gave concerned government agencies up to the end of May to bring home at least 24,000 repatriated OFWs, who were stranded in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Batangas.
The remaining 16,181 OFWs were given transportation aid from June 1 to 14, 2020.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) earlier said at least 40,000 more OFWs, whose employment was disrupted by Covid-19, will be repatriated this month and many need transportation services from the government.