Nearly 60,000 overseas Filipinos have returned home
MANILA – As the International Labour Organization rightly projected more overseas workers will return home due to concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported repatriating 7,928 workers this week, bringing the total number of Filipino workers now home to 59,041 this weekend.
The DFA said 53,67 percent or 31,688 were sea-based workers while 46.55 percent or 27,353 were land-based workers. Most of the repatriates came from Barbados, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UAE yesterday.
The DFA was successful in the arrangements for seven flights from Saudi Arabia which brought home 2,055 overseas Filipinos. Six other flights from the UAE brought home 1,526 workers.
Last June 25, the same government agency chartered a special flight to bring home over 300 Filipinos from Qatar.
The Department of Foreign Affairs helped in the safe return of Baby Danice who underwent a liver transplant in India and remained stranded with her parents due to the lockdown in the country. She was included in the special repatriation flight of Air India 1310 from New Delhi last June 23.
The Philippine government worked closely with the governments of Papua New Guinea and Myanmar for the arrangement of sweeper flights to bring home some 170 stranded overseas Filipinos. The sweeper flights also brought PNG and Myanmar nationals in the Philippines back to their respective countries.
Overseas Filipinos hoping to return home should contact the nearest embassy or consulate in their area for their repatriation, the DFA said. (Melo M. Acuña)
Department of Foreign Affairs personnel have remained fixtures at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as they welcome repatriated overseas Filipinos. (DFA Photo)
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