Palace: 8,000 distressed Filipinos repatriated this year

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

The 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. had earlier called for improved coordination between the DFA and the newly created Department of Migrant Workers to provide assistance to overseas Filipinos.