31 OFWs back home from Middle East
Thirty-one overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the Middle-East finally made it back to the Philippines late Tuesday after their repatriation was delayed due to the situation there, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.
The first batch of repatriates included the 26 OFWs from Israel who had been expected to return home since last weekend. They arrived together with three other Filipinos from Jordan, one from Palestine and one from Qatar.
The OFWs were supposed to arrive on Tuesday morning, but their flights were rescheduled after Qatar closed its airspace due to the conflict and missile exchange between Israel and Iran. They arrived later that evening.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, who arrived together with the OFWs, also cited the “airspace restrictions.”
“[B]ut what’s really important is that we are here at home, safe and sound,” he said. Cacdac had been in Jordan to monitor the situation in the Middle East as it concerned the OFWs.
The repatriates were each given cash assistance of P150,000 from the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the department said.
They were also provided P10,000 each under the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which said it would continue to provide financial aid to OFWs affected by the conflict, as more are expected to return home in the coming weeks.
“They can use this for their food needs while they wait to be transported back to their home provinces. Upon their return home, our field offices will assess if there is additional assistance that can be provided to them,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao told the Inquirer in a text message.
‘Crucial step’
Meanwhile the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran as announced by the United States.
The DFA expressed the hope that “it will be a crucial step towards achieving lasting peace in the region.”
“We urge all parties concerned to continue engaging in dialogue and negotiations toward a permanent solution to this issue,” the department said.
