Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — The global COVID-19 pandemic has displaced over a thousand overseas Filipino workers in Qatar, an envoy said on Tuesday.
Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan Timbayan said a total of 1,645 land-based Filipino workers were displaced while 4,055 OFWs were asked to go on forced leave — a policy allowed by the Qatar government.
He added most of the Filipinos in the Arab country are field workers, domestic workers, and professionals.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ estimate as of January this year, there are 241,109 OFWs in Qatar.
Displaced workers in Qatar can apply for financial assistance through the Labor Department’s program. Over 85,000 OFWs were given P10,000 cash assistance from the P1.5-billion emergency aid program for OFWs who were displaced from their jobs due to lockdowns in their host countries.
The global health crisis has displaced almost 90,000 overseas Filipino workers, the Labor Department said last week.
