100,000 OFWs await repatriation — DOLE

MANILA, Philippines — Almost 100,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are awaiting repatriation from various countries abroad, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Reports from 40 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) showed a total of 98,615 stranded OFWs as of May 29. The figure is more than double the 40,000 that DOLE estimated would be returning home till June.

According to DOLE, the OFWs awaiting repatriation are either affected by lockdowns in their respective host countries or whose work contracts have expired, but cannot return home due to the absence of commercial flights.

DOLE said the Middle East accounted for the biggest bulk of stranded OFWs with 83,483, while 12,050 are in Europe and the American region, and 3,082 are in nearby Asian countries.

The majority – or 83,380 – of stranded OFWs in the Middle East are land-based, but distressed OFWs in Europe and the Americas are mostly sea-based workers numbering 11,372. Those from Asian countries, 2,110 are mostly land-based with the remaining as sea-based workers.

Of the total stranded OFWs, DOLE said 19,631 have unfinished employment contracts but want to return home.  The bulk of – or 11,505 – of those with unfinished contracts are in the Middle East, while close to 6,500 are in Europe and the Americas.

Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a total of 36,625 distressed OFWs have returned home.

Starting today till Wednesday, DOLE said, 380 distressed OFWs are coming home from Kuwait.

DOLE also reported that almost all of the 24,000 OFWs staying in various quarantine facilities have been transported to their provinces.

As of yesterday noon, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said that 23,708 OFWs were able to return home while 538 are still awaiting clearances.

Overseas Filipinos repatriated

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a total of 31,352 overseas Filipinos (OFs) have been repatriated by the Philippine government since it began bringing back Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in February.

The Filipinos repatriated were mostly seafarers.

According to the DFA, 20,633 sea-based and 10,719 land-based OFs were repatriated.

The repatriates include 104 stranded Filipinos from Malaysia, 48 from India, and OFWs from UAE who arrived on Saturday.

On Thursday, a total of 786 OFs on board four different flights from the USA, Germany, Cambodia, and Portugal arrived in Manila.

First among the arrivals on Thursday were 124 stranded Filipinos from San Francisco, USA aboard a commercial PAL flight. This was followed by the arrival of 375 seafarers of AIDA Cruises from Hamburg, Germany through a chartered flight arranged by their local manning agency, Magsaysay Maritime Corp. The third flight carried another set of 167 stranded Filipinos from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The last flight brought in 120 Filipino crewmembers of the MV Star Pride from Lisbon, Portugal.

Upon disembarkation, all repatriated Filipinos underwent the mandatory Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction test before proceeding to their respective stringent quarantine facilities where they will be staying for 14 days.

Almost 200 Filipinos left Australia to go home to the Philippines through Philippine Airlines special flights. PAL organized two special flights from Sydney and Melbourne on Wednesday to serve stranded Filipinos.

Seven flights were arranged to bring home Filipinos from Australia to the Philippines since travel restrictions were put in place in late March.