9 Pinoy performance artists repatriated from Japan

MANILA, Philippines – Nine Filipino performance artists were repatriated by Philippine authorities from Tokyo, Japan, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday.

According to DFA, the contracts of the nine overseas performing artists (OPAs) were pre-terminated after the global economy slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The contracts of the OPAs were pre-terminated due to the slowdown of the global economy brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” DFA said in a statement.

“The DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA), respectively, coordinated with the local manning agency of the OPAs to facilitate their repatriation,” they added.

The artists were reported to have been based in Fukuoka before being flown to Manila from Tokyo, through an All Nippon Airways flight.

All repatriates, DFA said, would be subjected to strict home quarantine measures given that Japan has one of the highest cases of COVID-19 in Asia, with 4,100 cases and 97 deaths.

In the Philippines, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge, forcing the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) over Luzon until April 30.

Department of Health officials said on Wednesday that there are now at 3,870 patients infected with COVID-19, 182 of which have already died while at least 96 have recovered.

Worldwide, over 1.4 million individuals have been infected, while 81,894 have died from the disease and 294,660 have recovered from it.