PH Embassy in Brussels Distributes Food Packs to Filipinos Affected by COVID-19

Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega personally led the Philippine Embassy’s consular team in distributing food packages to Filipino graduate students in Leuven, Belgium on 07 May 2020. (Brussels PE photo)

BRUSSELS 15 May 2020 — The Philippine Embassy in Brussels, in coordination with Filipino community organizations and leaders, distributed food packages on 29 April and 07 May 2020 to Filipinos economically affected by the confinement measures put in place by the Belgian government to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Embassy prioritized Filipinos who were not eligible to receive Belgian government support and Filipino graduate students taking up further studies at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Belgium went into lockdown on 18 March 2020 to combat COVID-19. The lockdown, however, prevented many Filipino workers in the country, most of whom are in the services or services-related sector, from earning a living since then. With the help of Filipino community organizations and leaders, who coordinated in taking into account the Filipinos in need, the Embassy mobilized its resources to prepare food packages that were either delivered to their doorsteps or picked up at the Embassy premises.

The Filipino workers were also encouraged to become members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to enjoy membership benefits, as well as the Department of Labor and Employment’s USD200 AKAP program for displaced Filipino workers due to COVID-19. END

For more information, visit  https://www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium/.