67 OFWs from Qatar repatriated

SIXTY-SEVEN overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Doha, Qatar returned to the Philippines on Saturday evening, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said on Sunday.

According to a Facebook post by OWWA, the newly repatriated OFWs were carried by Qatar Airways flight QR 928 which landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and OWWA have been tapping both commercial and government-chartered flights to bring home OFWs from countries affected by the war such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

OWWA said the newly repatriated OFWs have received post-repatriation assistance for food, domestic flight, land transport, and accommodation upon the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

Last Friday, 344 OFWs and dependents from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and 244 from Bahrain also returned to the country through government-chartered flights which arrived at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said about 2.4 million Filipinos live in the Middle East, the region affected by the war between US-Israel and Iran which started on Feb. 28.

The conflict has prompted Philippine government agencies such as the DMW, OWWA, and Philippine embassies in Middle East countries to come up with assistance programs for OFWs and stranded Filipinos which includes the repatriation.

The government has so far chartered seven flights since the repatriations started in March, bringing home thousands of OFWs in a month based on data from the DMW. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana