More than 50 stranded OFWs in Bahrain return home — DFA

MANILA, Philippines — Almost 60 stranded overseas Filipinos in the Kingdom of Bahrain returned to the Philippines last week under the national government’s COVID-19 response program, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

In a statement, the DFA said that five wards of the shelter of the Philippine Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain, ten Filipino detainees, and the two-month-old infant daughter of one of the detainees were among the 58 returning Filipinos. 

"The detainees were confined at the Female Detention Center for various offenses, and have since completed their respective sentences, but were unable to leave Bahrain immediately due to the lack of available seats in flights bound for the Philippines," the DFA's statement read. 

"Additional seats were made available by Gulf Air, at a special rate which enabled stranded Filipinos to return home," it also said. 

According to the DFA, the wards were first housed at the Embassy shelter after leaving their respective employers due to difficult working conditions.

The Philippine Embassy in Bahrain coordinated with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, the Bahrain Police, and the General Directorate for Reform and Rehabilitation of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the processing and issuance of the exit clearance of the repatriates.