DMW: 200 OFWs stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to be brought home to PH

Two hundred overseas Filipino workers stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia due to flight cancellations will be brought back to the Philippines on government expense, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Saturday.

This represents an initial batch of OFWs to be flown back to Manila.

"In Riyadh, per directive of President Bongbong Marcos, we shall bring home an initial 200 OFWs whose flights to Manila have been cancelled," DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said in a statement, according to a report by GMA News reporter JP Soriano.

"The DMW-OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) shall shoulder costs of such return flights, until Riyadh to Manila commercial flights have fully normalized," Cacdac added.

Flights to Manila from Riyadh and vice versa were canceled by airlines such as Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific due to the ongoing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels based in Yemen.

PAL said its flights to and from Riyadh are suspended until November 29, 2026.

Cebu Pacific meanwhile said its flights to and from Riyadh were canceled until October 31, 2026.

The Houthis recently attacked the international airport in Riyadh (King Khalid International Airport) twice earlier this month, leading to the closure of the airport and cancellation of flights.

Thirteen died in the October 10 attack, with more than 300 injured. Four Filipinos were among the injured.

One person died and nearly a dozen were hurt in the October 11 attack.

Two Philippine diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia have jointly advised Filipinos in the country to exercise "heightened caution" amid its ongoing tensions with Iran-aligned Houthi forces.

In an advisory issued on October 9, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah urged Filipinos to remain, vigilant, and alert for their own safety and protection. —KG, GMA News