Migrante Philippines strongly condemned the Duterte regime for its garbage-like treatment of returning over­se­as Fi­li­pi­no wor­kers (OFWs) who are now queued in Metro Manila due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Approximately 24,000 of them have long been locked up in quarantine facilities due to the slow pace of testing and the delayed issuance of results. One of whom has committed suicide. A group complained that they were made to wait at the airport near heaps of junk, the reason why Migrante called the regime’s treatment “garbage-like.”

Since April, about 36,000 migrant Filipinos returned to the country, 24,000 of whom have been cramped in quarantine facilities for more than two months. The Over­se­as Wor­kers Welfa­re Admi­nistra­ti­on has also been criticized for the limited meal rations brought to the migrants “tardily,” for the “financial aid that never came,” and for not constantly providing them with protective equipment and toiletries. In a desperate attempt to go home, some of them paid P4,500 to be tested by the Phi­lip­pi­ne Red Cross. However, many of those tested negative during the initial test, tested positive upon their arrival in their hometowns.

The said situation is bound to worsen with the deluge of 42,000 returning OFW in the coming months. Approximately 400,000 OFWs aare expected to lose employment due to the recession caused by the pandemic. The National Task Force-Covid 19 chief implementer Gen. Car­li­to Galvez Jr. said that they are not ready for the said deluge of OFWs.

In various parts of the globe, more than 5,300 OFWs already tested positive for Covid-19, 357 of whom died. Many OFWs are still stranded in various countries and could not go home due to lockdown. They neither receive financial nor food aid. Many are already pleading for help about their situation and demand repatriation. Duterte’s generals will held accountable for their inept response to the Covid-19 pandemic.