The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the travel ban to Taiwan are also entitled to receive cash assistance from the government.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Filipino workers bound for Taiwan affected by the travel ban and are members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will be getting financial assistance.
“If (they are an) OWWA member, yes (they are covered by the cash assistance),” Bello said in a text message.
The DOLE earlier said the government will provide PHP10,000 cash assistance to an OFW affected by the travel ban to China, Macao, and Hong Kong as part of the precautionary measures against the 2019 novel coronavirus-acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) outbreak.
The cash assistance was an immediate response of the DOLE and OWWA to the call of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to ease and lessen the burden of the would-be departing OFWs after the government has imposed the travel ban.
On Monday, the Department of Health said Taiwan is included in the list of areas where OFWs are temporarily not allowed to travel.
The Bureau of Immigration, meanwhile, said any passenger of any nationality who has been to China, Hong Kong, and Macao within 14 days before coming to the Philippines shall automatically be denied entry.
Meanwhile, Filipino citizens and aliens with permanent resident visas may be allowed entry.
Filipinos and aliens who are exempted from the ban shall be turned over to the Bureau of Quarantine for their assessment, together with a copy of their arrival cards.
Filipinos are likewise temporarily not allowed to leave for China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan unless they are part of a government delegation conducting official duties, members of the World Health Organization and other agencies involved in containing the 2019 nCoV-ARD outbreak. (PNA)
