4,600 OFWs in Qatar await repatriation — envoy

MANILA, Philippines — Some 4,600 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Qatar are still awaiting repatriation back to the country, Philippine Ambassador to Doha Alan Timbayan said Monday.

“So far po meron kaming nasa 4,600 pa po (na) nagregister sa amin sa embahada requesting for repatriation,” Timbayan said in a televised briefing.

(So far, we have some 4,600 who registered in the embassy requesting for repatriation.)

Timbayan said the embassy is coordinating with the Qatar Airways and Philippine Airlines to arrange some of the OFWs’ flights back to the Philippines.

“Other than this, other repatriation schemes are also being undertaken by the embassy,” he said.

Between May and July, Timbayan said 912 OFWs had already returned to the country.

Further, the envoy disclosed that 15 Filipinos in the Gulf state tested positive for COVID-19.

About 99,000 of the 104,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Qatar have reportedly recovered, with at least 147 deaths.

EDV