MANILA, Philippines — The third batch of the remains of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia will arrive in the Philippines next week, the Department of Labor and Employment said Tuesday.
A total of 137 OFWs, who died due to COVID-19 and other causes, have already been brought home in two separate batches last week.
“Preliminary figures from the overseas offices of DOLE and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh indicate those ready for repatriation (for the third batch) are 57 OFW remains who all died of [COVID-19],” DOLE said in a statement.
The remains consist of 30 cadavers from Jeddah, 20 from Riyadh and seven from Al Khobar.
“We will accord our fallen modern-day heroes the same grand welcome and memorial ceremonies due them upon their arrival,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in the same statement.
The chartered cargo flight would arrive in Manila on July 28, according to Bello.
The labor secretary said the return of the remains will follow the same health protocols observed in the first two batches of repatriation, where COVID-19 fatalities were brought directly to crematoriums upon arrival.
“Our government shares the grief of the bereaved families of our dear OFWs. But we continue to seek their understanding to strictly adhere to the protocols for their own good and that of our communities,” Bello said.[ac]