Another batch of Filipinos affected by the escalating tensions in the Middle East safely returned to the Philippines early Sunday morning, 15 March.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the repatriates arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay City at 7 a.m. aboard a government-arranged chartered flight.

A total of 342 passengers on board Philippine Airlines, including 328 overseas Filipino workers and 13 children.

The repatriates were welcomed by Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Gloria Balboa and representatives from the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies.

The returning OFWs were immediately provided with assistance, including hotel accommodation, medical check-ups, food, and transportation to their respective provinces. They will also receive financial assistance from the government.

This is the government's second charter flight, part of an action plan aimed at accelerating assistance and the repatriation of OFWs caught in the conflict in the Middle East, in response to the directive of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

The repatriated Filipinos came from Al Khobar, Dammam, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, as well as from Bahrain, and they crossed the border via land travel.

Earlier today, 26 OFWs from Qatar who availed of voluntary repatriation arrived past midnight at NAIA Terminal 3 on Sunday aboard Qatar Airways flight 928.

The DMW reported that 442 Filipinos, including 200 OFWs, arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 on Saturday afternoon aboard a chartered flight.

A total of 1,022 OFWs and 293 dependents were repatriated from 5 to 14 March amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.