22 Filipinos back from Kuwait after labor pact

Twenty-two more distressed migrant Filipino workers from Kuwait returned to the country on Sunday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

In a statement, the DFA said the latest batch of repatriated Filipinos, mostly from Mindanao, were among 600 Filipino migrant workers who had fled abusive employers and sought shelter at the Philippine Embassy in the oil-rich Gulf state.

Foreign Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said the DFA paid for their return flight and distributed P5,000 in financial aid to each worker.

The repatriation, Arriola said in the statement, was among the conditions in the labor agreement signed by the Philippines and Kuwait that led to the lifting of the ban on deployment of Filipino workers. —Marlon Ramos