90 OFWs from UAE arrive in Phl amid Mideast conflict

Ninety Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from the United Arab Emirates who requested repatriation amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have safely returned to the Philippines Sunday night.

Of this number, 33 of them were sponsored by the government, according to Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, who added that some of the OFWs repatriated and assisted by the government have already booked tickets and are scheduled to return to the country.

The returning OFWs arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City at 9:40 p.m. via Emirates Airlines flight EK336.

Cacdac said 33 OFWs who returned to the country asked to be repatriated, while the others were stranded due to flight troubles.

"We're welcoming them [returning OFWs]. This flight is no different, especially in the context of the current conflict in the Middle East. And we welcome those who had a hard time coming home or stranded or were worried about whether they would go home or not. So finally they are here," Cacdac said in a press briefing at NAIA Terminal 3 Sunday night.

"Many of them still had their tickets with them. Those who canceled previous flights or they had bookings prior to this flight. So in other words, they answered their plane tickets. But 33 of them were sponsored by the DMW and OWWA [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration]. Now for everybody, we gave either pre-repatriation assistance and most of them post-repatriation assistance," the DMW chief added.

Cacdac also said that there is an ongoing effort to provide on-site assistance and basic needs support to OFWs who are still in the eight countries affected by the current conflict, noting that DMW has identified exit points in these countries where OFWs can be brought to “safer grounds” before eventual repatriation.

"We have identified in each of these eight countries that are involved certain points of exit where OFWs could be brought to safer grounds. I won't mention these particular points of exit," Cacdac said.

"For security reasons, I cannot provide all these details. But these are land crossings because most airspaces and airports in these eight countries are closed or either restricted. So efforts are underway to cross people over the border of each of these eight countries," he added.

Cacdac also said that DMW is preparing charter flights for Filipinos who are seeking repatriation in the coming days.

"We are also in efforts to undertake charter flights. And up and coming in the next few days there will be a proper announcement for the charter flights," he said.

"So we will just subject it to a future announcement when the proper time comes," he added.

So far, around 400 OFWs and their dependents have been repatriated since 5 March amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The DMW said that more batches of OFWs and their dependents are expected to be repatriated in the coming weeks.