MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has repatriated almost 165,000 Filipinos since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The agency in a press release Sunday said it brought home 42,583 overseas Filipinos in August, bringing the total number of those repatriated to 164,368.
"An overwhelming majority (76.1%) of the August repatriates flew in from the Middle East while the rest came from Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and Africa," DFA's statement read.
Data from the agency shows that another 10.4% or 32,389 of repatriates came from Asia and the Pacific, 9.6% or 4,109 from the Americas, 3.7% or 1,571 from Europe, and 0.2% or 91 from Africa.
"The DFA also mounted nine chartered flights in August which brought home distressed Filipinos from Malaysia, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon," the department said.
"These DFA-chartered flights were paid for using the Assistance-to-Nationals Fund. The Department, through its Philippine Embassy in Tehran and in coordination with its partner government agencies, also successfully brought home stranded OFWs in Uzbekistan in late August despite the lack of an embassy and consulate general in the country."
Lauding its "relentless...repatriation efforts despite the imposition of MECQ during the first half of [August]," the DFA further assured the public that it "stands ready to bring home our fellow Filipinos from anywhere in the world."
"In fact, the second batch of repatriates from Lebanon, following the blast at Beirut Port, arrived safely last Thursday night on board a DFA-chartered Philippine Airlines flight," the agency revealed.
Over 10,000 cases of COVID-19 among FIlipinos abroad
Meanwhile, a separate report from the DFA on Sunday confirmed only one new case among Filipinos abroad, bringing the total tally to 10,117.
The agency said the single new case was recorded in the Asia and the Pacific region.
Coronavirus-related deaths and recoveries remain unchanged at 758 and 6,284, respectively.
Of the 10,117 cases recorded by the DFA, 1,998 have been verified by the Department of Health.
In the Philippines, latest data from the DOH places the national caseload at 237, 365 and deaths at 3,875.