Stranded OFWs lining up for P5,000 in aid face visa expiry, threat of job loss

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) affected by last week's runway mishap at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) waited in line on Thursday morning to get P5,000 in assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

According to a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido, OFWs started to fall in line as early as 8 a.m., but DFA officials arrived at the airport past 10 a.m. as they had to withdraw money from the bank.

P5,000, however, is unlikely to go a long way, especially for OFWs who have to go through the arduous and expensive process of re-applying for visas and re-booking flights.

Domestic helper Silvia Guardacsa's re-entry visa to return to Saudi Arabia has expired, and she needs to borrow money to apply for another visa at the embassy.

"'Yung mister ko, construction worker lang. May estudyante ako, may maliit akong anak gumagatas. Kaya kailangang kailangang makaalis," she said.

Another OFW, Emilinda Roque, is afraid of losing her job if she fails to return to Riyadh by Friday. She also borrowed money to re-book her flight.

"Ang sabi po nila sa amin, tatawagan po nila kami and ite-text that time, pero wala naman po silang text o tawag kaya nagpunta na lang po kami dito," Roque said.

According to DFA, affected OFWs who already left the country may still get assistance from the Philippine embassy offices of the countries where they are working.

"Kung sakaling nakaalis na po sila, pumunta lang po sila sa kahit anong embahada o konsulado ng Pilipinas at mabibigyan po sila ng ano P5,000 din, equivalent to what currency they have," said DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola.

Xiamen Air flight MF8667 skidded off Runway 06/24 around 11 p.m. on August 16 supposedly due to rain. The incident inconvenienced tens of thousands of airline passengers as NAIA's international runway was closed for nearly 36 hours.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said that airport operations are back to normal. Investigation into the incident is ongoing. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News