DMW: 50 more Filipinos to be repatriated from ME before June 30
Department of Migrant Workers — File photo
MANILA, Philippines — Another batch of Filipino repatriates from the Middle East is set to go home before June ends.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Felicita Bay disclosed the matter in a press conference on Tuesday, noting that the batch comprises 50 Filipinos.
READ: 21 PH gov’t officials evacuated from Israel to Jordan
“For scheduling of repatriation, 50 – this is supposedly for the second batch. Our first batch will arrive later with Secretary Cacdac,” said Bay, referring to DMW chief Hans Leo Cacdac.
“I mentioned about the 50, it’s tentatively scheduled June 26 or June 27 and they will be following the same route as the first batch, but with what happened yesterday or last night on closure of the Qatar air space, our embassy and the migrant workers office will be working out and checking on arrangements [for] another route,” she added.
READ: PH gov’t mulls chartered flight to repatriate OFWs in Middle East
The first batch of overseas Filipino worker-repatriates from the Middle East — primarily from Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and Qatar — safely arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday evening.
The repatriates were welcomed by a whole-of-government team led by DMW and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration personnel, who immediately provided financial support worth P150,000 and airport assistance, including temporary shelter or onward transportation to their respective provinces.
In light of the rising tension in the Middle East, the Philippine government raised the alert levels in both Israel and Iran to Alert Level 3.
Under this alert level, all overseas Filipinos in Israel and Iran are enjoined to return to the Philippines.
Travel by Filipinos to both these countries is highly discouraged, due to the ongoing crisis and the actual closure of their air space and seaports. /das
