DFA: Filipino repatriates from UAE reach 3,000
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs has now repatriated a total of 3,000 distressed Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates, following the arrival of its seventh special chartered flight from the UAE since the start of the pandemic.
In a statement sent to reporters, the DFA said it brought home 359 Overseas Filipinos—including 112 pregnant Filipino women and 12 persons with disabilities—the flight arrived at Davao International Airport on Sunday.
This comes after the department said it repatriated a total of 1,920 overseas Filipinos in June.
“We are working double-time to make sure our kababayans in distress get the much-needed repatriation the soonest,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Arriola said.
"Pregnant women, PWDs, and those with special needs are given due consideration to expedite their return home," she added.
The DFA said its repatriation was coordinated by its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs, with the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, and the Regional Consular Office in Davao.
The Davao City local government led the provision of ground assistance together with the DFA Regional Consular Office Davao, Department of Health, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the Department of Tourism.
On top of their return flight ticket, free quarantine facility, and swab test provided by the government, all repatriates received "reintegration assistance" amounting to P10,000.
Arriola called the repatriation "a clear example of the whole-of-government approach that the administration promised in assisting our distressed OFs."
Gov't urged: Allow Filipinos to come home
Three flights have so far arrived this month—one a DFA-chartered flight with an estimated 350 passengers is on Saturday, and two other flights, arranged by a local manning agency and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, on July 5 and 10.
To recall, travelers coming from the UAE were barred from entering the Philippines until July 15, along with other individuals coming from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Oman
Some overseas Filipino workers urged the national government to lift the travel ban, saying they have been stranded in their host countries for over a month.
The Commission on Human Rights last Saturday raised the plight of OFWs, emphasizing that they "may grapple with the loss of their income, may experience fear and suffering as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and may suffer from the emotional distress of not seeing their families."
"While we understand that the ban on the return of OFWs was meant to prevent the possible spread of the new COVID-19 strain in the Philippines, the government should reconsider its imposition and allow Filipinos to come home to their families, even if it meant imposing stricter quarantine procedures upon their arrival in the country," Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, CHR focal commissioner on migrant rights, said.
However, Malacañang announced earlier Wednesday that the travel ban was extended until end-July.
Filipinos covered by repatriation efforts of the government and manning agencies cleared by the quarantine bureau can still enter the Philippines despite the extension of the travel ban on passengers from seven countries, Malacañang said in June.
To date, health authorities have recorded 1.5 million coronavirus infections in the Philippines, 47,190 of whom remain classified as active cases.
Davao City continues to top the list of local government units in the country with the most cases of the coronavirus logged per day, the OCTA Research Group said Sunday.
— with a report from Bella Perez-Rubio
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