DFA to welcome 105 repatriates under UAE amnesty program

A total of 105 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who availed of the amnesty offer of the Unites Arab Emirates (UAE) for undocumented foreign nationals will be repatriated on Thursday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the DFA said this would the 11th batch of OFWs to be repatriated, which brings the total number of Filipinos flown home by the government agency to 1,301 since the start of the UAE’s amnesty program in August.

READ: Undocumented Filipinos urged to avail of UAE amnesty program

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the DAF shouldered the exit fines and other penalties and the cost of airline tickets to Manila and to the respective provinces of the repatriates. The DFA also provided each of them with financial assistance of P5,000.

To give the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi ample time to process the necessary documents, Cayetano encouraged undocumented Filipinos to take advantage of the UAE’s amnesty program before the Oct. 31, 2018 deadline. /atm