Duterte OKs add'l P5B budget for quarantine expenses of returning OFWs

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved an additional P5 billion budget for quarantine expenses of returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.

"The President approved an additional P5 billion budget and this was confirmed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III," Roque said.

"This budget will pay for the quarantine hotel expenses because of the longer quarantine period that we require for our returning OFWs," he added.

The Philippine government requires returning OFWs to undergo quarantine in a government-run facility and have them undergo an RT-PCR test on the seventh day of quarantine. If they test negative, these returning OFWs are required to finish 14-day quarantine at home.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Hans Leo Cacdac earlier said the agency would need P9 billion additional budget to address the longer quarantine period required for returning OFWs amid the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus.

Over 500,000 OFWs have been repatriated since the COVID-19 pandemic grounded businesses and industries worldwide. —KBK, GMA News