DFA repatriates 13,537 stranded Filipinos abroad

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) brought home 13,537 overseas Filipinos over the weekend, bringing to 300,838 the number of repatriated nationals since it began its COVID-19-related repatriation efforts in February. Of the total number of repatriated Filipinos, 90,621 (30.12 percent) were sea-based, while 210,217 (69.88 percent) were land-based. “This is the biggest repatriation effort in the history of the DFA and of the Philippines,” said Sarah Lou Arriola, the undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs. —Tina G. Santos