More than 400 Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Saturday afternoon aboard a government-arranged charter flight amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The charter flight arrived shortly after 12 p.m., according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), which said more than 200 of the 442 passengers were overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
On board the aircraft were Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and 442 Filipinos, including over 200 OFWs.
“We have landed. 442 Filipinos from the UAE on the PHL government-chartered B747-400 flight, as directed by President Bongbong Marcos, are home,” Cacdac said in a Facebook post.
The repatriates were welcomed by several government agencies led by the DMW, along with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Bureau of Immigration.
OWWA said another charter flight carrying 341 OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain is scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Sunday, March 15.
The agency added that more charter flights are being arranged by the government to assist other distressed OFWs or those wishing to return to the Philippines from affected areas in the Middle East.
The safe return of Filipinos caught in the regional crisis is part of the directive and post-repatriation assistance program of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration.
Additional charter flights are also being arranged by OWWA to continue repatriation operations and assist other distressed OFWs or those seeking to return home from affected areas in the region.
The special charter flight expected on Sunday will arrive at NAIA carrying repatriated OFWs, along with OWWA personnel and a medical team ready to provide immediate assistance upon arrival.