PHL Ambassador Jose assures Filipinos in Malaysia that PHL embassy doing its best to address their needs, concerns
(Eagle News) – Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia H.E. Charles Jose said that Filipinos who contracted COVID-19 there have reached 94, with 61 of them already recovering from the disease and discharged from hospitals in Malaysia.
In an interview with EBC-NET25’s “ASEAN in Focus” program, Ambassador Jose said that the Philippine embassy there is also helping Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 restriction protocols, as well as those who were infected with COVID-19.
Jose said that so far, 33 Filipinos infected with the virus are still in various hospitals in Malaysia undergoing treatment.
“We continue to monitor their condition, and once they recover or are discharged we will help arrange for their repatriation back to the country,” the ambassador said.
Most of the Filipinos who were infected with COVID-19 attended a religious gathering inside a mosque, Jose said, and many of them were “madrasah students.”
“Karamihan po roon mga madrasah students, mga Pilipinong nag-aaral sa madrasah,” he said.
-Financial assistance, relief goods distributed to Filipinos in need-
He said that the one-time assistance of $200 dollars were given to both Filipinos who were infected with COVID-19, and for Filipinos whose jobs have been affected by the restriction protocols in Malaysia.
They include Filipinos who are under a “no-work-no-pay” scheme, and other undocumented workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Under the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia, non-essential services have been closed down, and strict social or physical distancing measures are being implemented.
Jose said that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) have so far received 6,000 applications for the $200 one-time financial assistance, and that they are sreviewing the applications, and have distributed the money to qualified applicants.
He said that they are trying their best to respond to the needs and concerns of Filipinos affected by the pandemic in Malaysia, and have started distributing relief goods to those most in need, with the help of Filipino community organizations there.
He said the embassy staff themselves raised funds for the relief efforts.
-83 stranded Filipino tourists already repatriated; 163 more to follow-
Jose also reported that 83 stranded Filipinos were already repatriated back to the country on April 5, while the embassy is arranging a chartered flight for the other Filipino tourists stranded in Malaysia after the lockdown measures have been put in place.
So far, he said, 163 Filipinos have already signed up for the chartered flight.
Jose assured all Filipinos in Malaysia that the embassy “is doing their best to address their needs and concerns” even with the existing limitations.
There are around 900,000 Filipinos in Malaysia, including both documented and undocumented workers.
Malaysia is enforcing strict measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.
It has so far doubled its COVID-19 testing daily – from the previous around 7,000 tests to the current 16,500 daily tests.
The Malaysian government had early on prepared for the pandemic, allocating an additional 500 million ringgit or US$120 million for the Ministry of Health to buy medical equipment such as ventilators, ICU equipment, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and lab requirements for testing.
An additional 100 million ringgit or US$24 million were allocated to recruit an additional 2,000 contract health care workers.
Jose said that the Philippine embassy has scaled down its operations, they are addressing concerns of Filipinos in Malaysia 24/7 and have duty officers around the clock to respond to calls and queries, as well as officers assigned to answer those sending concerns and requests via social media.
“Alam po namin, hindi po madali ang pinagdadaanan nila, especially yung mga undocumented workers, yung mga no-work-no- pay, na nawalan ng trabaho at kita during this movement control order,” the ambassador said in the ASEAN in Focus interview.
“We would like to assure our nationals here that we are doing our best to reach out to the most in need of our fellow Filipinos here in Malaysia,” he added.
(Eagle News Service)
