Uuwi Na Kayo! Over 400 Stranded OFWs Flown Home From Middle East War Zone
Good news para sa mga kababayan natin na stranded sa Middle East — the Philippine government is pulling out all the stops to bring them home safely. Malacañang announced that chartered flights and commercial bookings are now in full swing to evacuate Filipinos fleeing hostilities in the region.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro revealed the details while in New York, on the sidelines of President Marcos' engagements at the United Nations. On Monday alone, 16 OFWs from Tel Aviv traveled by land to southern Israel's Eilat, crossed the Egyptian border via Taba, and were booked on a Cairo-Muscat-Manila flight arriving March 11 at 9:30 PM Philippine time.
Another batch of 20 OFWs and 9 dependents from Dubai made their way overland to Oman through the Khatmat-Malaha border crossing in northern Oman, catching a Muscat-to-Manila flight. Additional commercial flights are being booked for Filipinos still in Dubai, while repatriation from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is being arranged with the earliest departure on March 14.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), is funding the entire repatriation operation using its Emergency Repatriation Fund. Castro confirmed that more than 400 Filipinos have already made it home since the conflict in the Middle East erupted on February 28.
It's a massive logistical operation involving land crossings through multiple countries and coordinated flights across the region. For the thousands of OFWs still in the Middle East, the government says more evacuation flights are being arranged — a lifeline for families anxiously waiting for their loved ones to come home safely.
Source: The Manila Times
