Senator Grace Poe in one of the Senate hearings. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Sunday lauded the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for the safe return of the first batch of Filipinos who had been caught in a civil conflict between paramilitaries in Sudan.
“As we welcome the arrival of the first batches of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) from Sudan, we will continue to hope for the safe return of the remaining Filipinos in the conflict-torn area,” Poe said in a statement.
Last April 29, the DFA, DMW, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) welcomed the return of 17 OFWs from Athens, Greece, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Earlier reports said that the agencies had been working to repatriate the remaining Filipinos since the conflict began.
In response to this, Poe lauded the concerned agencies for “acting quickly and working tirelessly in facilitating the passage of our OFWs to secure borders on their way home.”
“We trust that the government will continue to undertake all efforts to bring Filipinos to safety,” the senator said.
Poe also called on the national government to review its deployment policies to ensure OFWs’ safety when working abroad.
“We also hope that support systems are in place to assist returning Filipinos to find alternative jobs or livelihood here or to undergo skills retooling or training if they wish to. Mahalaga ang hanapbuhay, ngunit walang kapalit ang buhay at kaligtasan,” she said.
RELATED STORIES:
1st batch of Filipinos rescued from Sudan back in PH — DFA
DFA target: 1st batch of OFWs back from war-torn Sudan by weekend