MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking flight clearances for trips carrying Filipinos who wish to return home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During the hybrid hearing of the House committee on public accounts on issues related to the repatriation of OFWs, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana said that some Filipinos there have already booked commercial flights back to the Philippines with the help of their employers.
These flights, however, still need flight clearances from the Philippine government.
“Sa amin dito sa UAE ang talagang kailangan namin ay hindi flights kundi flight clearances. Mayroong eroplano na national carriers that the UAE are providing their services, ito yung sasabihin nating pwedeng commercial flights,” Quintana said.
“Nakabook na ang ating mga kababayan. Sila ay tinulungan ng kanilang mga employers at binigyan ng mga ticket para makabalik sa atin. Ngunit noong magkaroon ng cap ang IATF, noong May, doon nagsimula ang backlog namin dito,” Quitana added.
Quintana said they need flight clearances for around 50 flights.
“Noong ito ay nag-start na magkaroon ng limit bandung May, ako ay nakipag-ugnayan sa [Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease], ipinaliwanag ko sa kanila kung bakit naiiba ang sitwasyon ng ating mga kababayan dito sa UAE. Sila ay walang mga employers ‘yung iba kaya wala ditong magbibigay sa kanila ng ticket pabalik,” Quintana said.
Even the UAE government has also pledged to help in the repatriation of the Filipinos there if needed, according to Quintana.
“I reiterate, may mga national carriers ang UAE na handang lumipad sa atin. In fact, they told me na they can do daily flights if possible, even twice a day if kinakailangan,” said Quintana.
The ambassador said there are around 28,000 Filipinos in UAE that are deemed “distressed” and need to be repatriated to the Philippines. Of this number, 11,000 have already been brought home.
As for those who do not have tickets, Quintana said there are around 3,500 Filipinos whose airfare needs to be shouldered by the Philippine government through chartered flights.