348 more OFWs repatriated from UAE
MANILA, Philippines — Some 348 overseas Filipino workers have returned to Manila as part of repatriation efforts from countries with travel restrictions, the Department of Labor and Employment said Sunday.
The pandemic task force last week approved special commercial flights for Filipinos in nations currently under the government's travel ban.
It was ordered to prevent the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, and applies to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesch, UAE and Oman until July 15.
Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported that the OFWs arrived Sunday morning via PR 8659 of the flagship carrier Philippine Airlines.
He added that efforts are underway to fly home close to 2,000 OFWs and their families in the emirates. This July, Bello said repatriation flights would be on July 12, 17, 27 and 30.
The latest batch or repatriates had 67 pregnant OFWs, 30 with medical cases, six housed at the Bahay Kalinga in Dubai, and two from the Bahay Kalinga in Abu Dhabi.
Bello said they would undergo quarantine and would be sent to their hometowns once cleared and after testing negative for COVID-19.
The labor chief noted that one passenger was a household service worker who sought help from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai.
Her employer was said to have bought her a ticket, but abandoned her at the Dubai airport on July 5.
Bello added that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration would be managing their accommodation and food while under quarantine and waiting for their COVID-19 screening results.
A special working group has since been formed to work on the repatriation of Filipinos in the countries with travel ban.
Members include those from OWWA, the Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism, Philippine Coast Guard, and Department of Tourism.
Last month, the DFA said it repatriated 1,920 Filipinos from the UAE.
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