A total of 165 Filipinos from Kuwait arrived safely in the Philippines aboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J31 on Tuesday as part of the government's continuing whole-of-government repatriation efforts for overseas Filipino workers affected by the crisis in the Middle East.
The repatriates included 22 residents of the National Capital Region, 78 from Luzon, 28 from the Visayas and 37 from Mindanao. Before returning home, they received assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait and transited through Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Philippine Embassy, led by Ambassador Raymond Balatbat, provided additional support.
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said the government has been responding since the onset of the conflict and continues to fund emergency flights through the agency's Emergency Repatriation Fund. Upon arrival, the repatriates received food, financial assistance and transportation support, with nearly 11,000 OFWs and their families now safely repatriated since the crisis began, including 6,060 through OWWA-funded flights.
