Remains of 44 OFWs from Saudi arriving in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — The remains of 44 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died in Saudi Arabia are scheduled to arrive tomorrow at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced yesterday.

Bello said of the 44 bodies to be flown from Riyadh and Al Khobar, 19 succumbed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while 25 died of natural causes.

The cadavers of the OFWs are scheduled to arrive at around 9:15 a.m. on a Philippine Airlines flight.

Those who died of COVID-19 will be immediately brought to crematoriums, acccording to Bello.

He said the families of the deceased OFWs would not be allowed to go to Villamor.

“They will have to wait at the crematoriums to get the ashes of their relatives,” Bello said.