Nearly 250k overseas Filipinos have returned home

More overseas Filipinos returned last October

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs today said 37,095 overseas Filipinos have been repatriated last month since COVID-19 pandemic began eight months ago. Since the government begun its repatriation program, a total of 237,363 Filipinos have returned. From this figures, 77,326 or 32.58% were sea-based while 160,037 or 67.42% were land-based.

The DFA said 31,849 or 85.86% came from the Middle East while 2,716 or 7.32% were from Asia and the Pacific. It was learned 2,406 or 6.49% were from Europe and 92 or 0.25% came from Africa while 32 or 0.09% came from the Americas.

Last month, more than 500 Agrostudies students returned from Israel and 92 came from Benghazi in Libya and the first-ever repatriation by sea from Indonesia took place where 40 Filipino fishermen were received by the officers and crew of the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Tubbataha.

The DFA also chartered three flights from Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which flew home 920 overseas Filipinos with chronic medical conditions. They also initiated several medical repatriations from Australia, Brazil. French Polynesia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Oman, Spain and the United States of America.

Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said they expect to repatriate more than 107,000 Filipinos by year-end. (Melo M. Acuña)

Overseas Filipinos return home from different countries as COVID-19 pandemic continues. (DFA-OUMWA Photo)