341 Distressed OFWs Uuwi Na Mula Middle East — Chartered Flight, Ready Na
Hundreds of distressed overseas Filipino workers are finally coming home. A total of 341 OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain are set to board a chartered flight from Riyadh to Manila this Saturday, March 14, arranged by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.
The repatriation is part of a larger effort — the Philippine Consulate in Dubai earlier confirmed that at least 480 Filipinos, including 36 tourists and 270 migrant workers, are also scheduled for a separate chartered flight from Fujairah. So far, around 400 OFWs have already returned to the Philippines, according to Malacañang. Singapore even chipped in, sending its RSAF A330 military aircraft to bring home 24 Filipinos from Saudi Arabia.
Government teams from OWWA, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and the Philippine Embassies in Riyadh and Manama are assisting OFWs with travel documents, temporary accommodation, and land border crossings. Workers from Kuwait and Bahrain are being transported overland to Riyadh to make it to the staging area for the flight.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia assured the public that the department is ready for mass repatriation kung lumala pa ang sitwasyon. "Handa po tayong ilikas sila kung kinakailangang ilikas at sasalubungin natin at bigyan natin ng reintegration program para manumbalik ang normal na kabuhayan po nila," Olalia said during a Palace press briefing. Additional charter flights are being arranged for other distressed OFWs in affected areas.
The chartered flight is expected to arrive at NAIA on Sunday, March 15, with OWWA personnel and a medical team onboard ready to provide immediate assistance. The operation is funded through OWWA's Emergency Repatriation Fund — a lifeline for the estimated 2.3 million Filipinos working across the Middle East.
Source: Daily Tribune / Philstar
