DUBAI: Confident about the prospects of finally being employed again as restrictions continue to be eased and business activities gather steam, more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who have lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic, are preferring to stay on, with thoughts of bright Christmas ahead for their loved ones back home.
“Many are staying since dami rin (businesses) opening up na,” Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes told GMA News Online. “They have (gained) confidence in the local economy. Events pwede na rin kasi; hotels are back… wedding banquets, too,” he added.
Back in July, it was estimated that up to 92,500 OFWs have either lost their jobs, were on a no-work-no-pay arrangements or had their salaries reduced due to COVID measures.
This figure was based on the number of applicants for the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program, which grants a one-time AED730 (P10,000) financial assistance to OFWs displaced by the pandemic.
Cortes told a recent press briefing that approximately 50,000 OFWs from Dubai and the neighboring Northern Emirates of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain have left since June due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Philippine Consulate, he said, provided tickets and assistance to approximately 2,600 distressed OFWs, among them some 143 Filipinos repatriated last week on Oct. 31.
Roman Catholic Filipinos have traditionally looked to Christmas as a time for family reunions and gift-giving. Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) send home balikbayan boxes full of Noche Buena goodies and surprises around September in time for Christmas. They usually start filling these boxes up as early as March during paydays.
Others send money, too.
The Philippines is predominantly a Catholic country.
The Daily Bread 