The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration assured overseas Filipino workers they will not face penalties upon returning to the Philippines, regardless of their documentation status.

“I just want to remind everyone that the mandate of the Department of Migrant Workers is to protect all OFWs, whether they are documented or undocumented,” OWWA Deputy Administrator Jasmine Ann Gapatan said in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

“So, there are no consequences or negative implications for you,” she added.

Gapatan encouraged undocumented workers to formalize their employment status to gain full access to government assistance programs.

She said repatriation efforts remain ongoing amid tensions in the Middle East.

“Just yesterday, 153 OFWs from Bahrain returned to the country via a commercial flight, with tickets purchased by OWWA,” she said.

“This was followed by 344 individuals from Dubai who are being repatriated, and on 15 April, there will be 321 people arriving from Kuwait,” she added.

Gapatan said OWWA has sufficient funds to support returning workers, including food, hygiene kits and transportation to their home provinces.

The agency is also developing a “step-up program” aimed at upskilling and reskilling repatriated OFWs to help them reintegrate.

“So they can have peace of mind knowing they will be reintegrated and will have a better life when they return,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gapatan said no Filipino casualties have been reported in Beirut, Lebanon, but evacuation and voluntary repatriation efforts continue.

She urged Filipinos affected by the conflict to seek government assistance for immediate evacuation.