37 OFWs from Kuwait to come home Friday—DFA

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that 37 distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Kuwait would arrive in the country Friday.

In a text message to reporters, Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesman, said that the OFWs would be on board Gulf Air Flight GF 222 and 156 scheduled to land at 5:15 p.m.

“They were wards of the Philippine embassy’s resource center in Kuwait, and majority of them escaped from their employers due to various work-related problems,” Hernandez said in the text message.

He added that the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, together with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), made strong representations with the Kuwaiti government and concerned authorities for the immediate repatriation of the OFWs.

He said the plane tickets for the OFWs were paid for by their foreign recruitment agencies, Philippine recruitment agencies, and employers.