Nearly 8,000 distressed Filipinos living and working abroad have been repatriated this year, the Office of the Press Secretary said on Monday.

OPS said a total of 7,880 overseas Filipinos in need of help were repatriated from January to November 2022 by the Department of Foreign Affairs, led by the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs.

Of this number, 57.67 percent came from the Middle East — 942 from Kuwait and 70 from Sri Lanka.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has earlier called on for improved coordination between the DFA and the newly created Department of Migrant Workers to provide assistance to overseas Filipinos.

In his official foreign trips, Marcos has repeatedly described overseas Filipino workers as the pride of the Philippines who "bring honor to the Filipino nation."

He likewise recognized the valuable contribution of OFWs, especially during the time when the country's pandemic-stricken economy.

The President is looking at more labor attaches across the world to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers.

For Filipinos wanting to return to the country for good, Marcos wants them to retrain and reskilled or help them start a small business.

Citing its accomplishment report, OPS said the DFA issued a total of 3,589,620 passports from January to October this year.

The DFA also opened an additional six temporary off-site passport services facilities and issued 55,574 visas and 551,635 Apostille certificates.

DFA also led the signing of bilateral agreements on defense, culture, counterterrorism, trade and investment, technology and data protection and migrant workers' protection.