58 Filipinos repatriated from Bahrain — DFA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said it brought home 58 previously stranded Filipinos from the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

DFA in a statement said the repatriates flew home on a Gulf Air direct commercial flight on October 28 and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport the following day. 

"The repatriates included detainees, overstaying OFs, wards at the [Philippine] Embassy [in Bahrain] Shelter, and two OFs with medical conditions," the department said. 

It added that many distressed Filipinos in Manama Bahrain have requested the embassy's assistance in booking tickets at the special rate offered by Gulf Air amid the continued limitation of arriving passengers in the Philippines. 

"The Embassy also coordinated with the DFA - Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and concerned agencies for the exemption of the repatriates from arrival limitations as well as for the quarantine facilities for the repatriates." 

The latest flight brought the total number of stranded Filipinos repatriated from Bahrain from August 2021 to 287. 

Of the 287 Filipinos, the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain shouldered the airfare of 175 distressed Filipinos using the DFA’s Assistance-to- Nationals Fund.