Image from the Facebook post of Philippine Embassy in Kuwait.
MANILA, Philippines — Around 23,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait lost their jobs amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Philippine Charge d’ Affaires to Kuwait Charleson Hermosura said Thursday.
“Medyo marami rami din po ang na-displace sa ating mga employed, 23,000 po yung OFWs na nandito sa Kuwait who have been displaced because of loss of jobs or dahil po no work, no pay po sila,” Hermosura said in a televised briefing.
(There’s a lot. Some 23,000 OFWs here in Kuwait have lost their jobs.)
Hermosura said over 5,000 of the displaced OFWs already received financial assistance under the Department of Labor and Employment’s Abot Kamay Ang Pagtulong program.
Hermosura added that some 4,000 displaced OFWs have been repatriated since March.
Kuwait hosts over 187,000 OFWs, based on 2015 data from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
To date, there are over 55,000 COVID-19 cases in Kuwait with 44,000 recoveries and at least 399 deaths.