DMW: 7,674 Filipinos back in PH since start of Mideast war
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Saturday said 7,674 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and dependents have returned to the Philippines since the Middle East crisis broke out nearly two months ago.
Of this number, a total of 7,051 were repatriated through government funding, including 5,669 OFWs and 1,382 dependents.
In a statement, the agency said the Marcos administration would sustain efforts to repatriate more Filipinos requesting to go home.
“The government continues to strengthen the repatriation and reintegration program in accordance with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure the welfare of OFWs and their reintegration upon return,” the agency said.
The conflict, which has since stretched to neighboring Gulf states, broke out when Israel and the US mounted a joint military operation against Tehran’s nuclear sites and leadership on Feb. 28.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac earlier said the agency intends to ensure the safety and welfare of Filipinos in the region, and is ready should the need for a possible large-scale repatriation arise.
The DMW, he said, has already set up meeting points, exit points and making fly-out arrangements for repatriation and urged Congress to pass measures to put up emergency funding to better support OFWs and their families during crises.
Cacdac went to Saudi Arabia from April 20 to April 23 to look into the safety and continued employment of 412 Filipino seafarers in offshore operations in the Persian Gulf.
Saudi Arabia trip
At a press briefing, Cacdac said he met with officials of Zamil Offshore, a major offshore support services provider in the region, which currently employs 412 Filipino seafarers deployed on vessels operating within the Persian Gulf.
He also said the Filipino seafarers remain actively employed, with their contracts continuing to be implemented, including the regular remittance of 80 percent of earnings to their families in the Philippines.
“The 412 seafarers on those ships will continue to work within the Persian Gulf. They will not exit the Persian Gulf out of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Cacdac said his Saudi Arabia visit is part of the intensified government monitoring of Filipino seafarers in the Middle East amid ongoing regional tensions.
He reported that 1,161 Filipino seafarers have so far exited the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz between April 2 and April 18, many of them aboard cruise ships already operating in the area.
