MANILA -- More than 640,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have returned to the country and transported to their home provinces, the labor department said on Monday.

In a virtual briefing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported that a total of 641,717 OFWs have been reunited with their families after undergoing the required quarantine protocols for returning OFWs while 9,000 are yet to complete the requirement.

The labor secretary thanked the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for shortening the quarantine requirement for returning OFWs, especially for those who are only in the country to visit their loved ones.

"Pinaiksi ang quarantine period para sa ating OFWs upang bigyan sila ng pagkakataon na makasama ng mas matagal ang kanilang pamilya,” Bello said, explaining that some returning OFWs only spend 30 days in the country and that it should not be spent mostly in quarantine.

Under the new protocol, all returning OFWs are only required to undergo a 10-day quarantine in a government-approved hotel/facility upon arrival, with RT-PCR testing required on the seventh day. If the COVID-19 test is negative, they will be allowed to go home.

Meanwhile, fully vaccinated OFWs (including travelers) will be required a 7-day quarantine, with RT-PCR testing done on the fifth day. Once tested negative, they will be transported back to their homes subject to their local government unit’s requirements.

Bello also assured that the labor department, through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, is continuously seeking funds to help returning OFWs, especially now that Metro Manila is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

"They are the movers of the economy. Kung wala tayong workers, hindi gagalaw ang negosyo. Kapag hindi gumalaw ang negosyo, hindi rin gagalaw ang ekonomiya," he said, emphasizing the need to protect the welfare and the well-being of all workers, including OFWs.

"Hindi natin pwedeng pabayaan ang ating mga manggagawang maaapektuhan ng dalawang linggong ECQ. Kahit papaano, dapat mabigyan sila ng kaunting ayuda," Secretary Bello also assured. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, DOLE has been providing financial assistance to displaced OFWs through its Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong Program (DOLE-AKAP) and COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (DOLE-CAMP).

OWWA-led Project EASE (Educational Assistance through Scholarship in Emergencies) was also launched to provide educational assistance to qualified dependents of OFWs whose employment was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. (DOLE)