DSWD ready to support distressed OFWs amid Middle East conflict

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it is ready to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the conflict in the Middle East should they decide to come home.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said he has reached out to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac to assure him of the DSWD’s readiness to help in the possible repatriation of OFWs.

“I told Sec. Hans that the DSWD is ready to back DMW up in assisting OFWs affected by this turmoil,” Gatchalian said.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said they are closely coordinating with the DMW and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on the situation of OFWs affected by the tension in the Middle East.

“Sa utos na rin ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., mahigpit po ang koordinasyon na ginagawa ng DSWD sa DMW at DFA kung sakaling magkaroon ng repatriation sa mga lugar na apektado ng airstrikes sa Gulf region,” Dumlao said in a statement.

(As ordered by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the DSWD is coordinating with the DMW and the DFA should there be any repatriation from the areas affected by airstrikes in the Gulf region.)

She added that the DSWD has several programs and services which will be tapped in aiding returning OFWs and their families.

These are the Aid to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) for distressed OFWs, Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), and psycho-social interventions to help address the stress or trauma that they experienced.

The DSWD assured OFWs in the Middle East that government agencies are working together to deliver comprehensive assistance to OFWs affected by the conflict.

Earlier, the DMW said around 80 to 100 Filipinos in Dubai expressed their intention to return to the Philippines amid escalating tension in the Middle East.

The DFA said around 2.4 million Filipinos are in the Middle East, mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, with around 800 in Iran.

Tensions in the region escalated over the weekend following joint military operations launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

The military and the Department of National Defense (DND) said the conflict in the Middle East does not pose any direct threat to the Philippines’ security. — JMA, GMA Integrated News