A TOTAL of 344 “distressed” Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) were repatriated from Saudi Arabia according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) over the weekend.
In a statement, DMW Secretary Susan Ople said the repatriated OFWs arrived on Sunday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) onboard Philippine Airlines flight PR-8657.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) led the coordination efforts related to the repatriation and arranged all domestic flights of the returning Filipinos.
“The DMW, through OWWA, will be extending the needed assistance to all our repatriated kababayan, including medical help and transportation,” says Ople.
The DMW chief said among those who came home were four OFWs with health conditions and five others suffering from mental illness.
“These OFWs have been provided with medical assistance. The OWWA is also helping one OFW from Iloilo who came home to attend to a tragedy within the family,” the DMW chief added.
Ople said the other OFWs who will undergo quarantine procedures will be accommodated in a hotel in Quezon City and tested for COVID-19.
Once cleared, Ople said the OFWs will be provided with transportation assistance by the OWWA in order for them to return home and rejoin their families.