A total of 64 overstaying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were repatriated on Thursday, Sept. 12, under the amnesty program.

Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso A. Ver revealed that 35 of the repatriates were from Abu Dhabi, while the rest came from Dubai.

The ambassador expressed his gratitude to the UAE government for waiving fines and penalties, allowing the Filipinos and other expatriates to leave without facing legal consequences.

Consul General Marford Angeles of the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai reported that most of the repatriated OFWs had left their employers without permission and were unable to secure stable employment afterward.

Among the first group of repatriates was a Filipino who had been hiding in the country for nearly six years and another suffering from kidney failure who had undergone dialysis the day before.

The repatriates returned home on a Philippine Airlines flight funded by the Department of Migrant Workers through the Migrant Workers Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Both agencies will also provide financial assistance to the OFWs upon their arrival in the Philippines.