Another batch of 90 OFWs arrive in PH amid Middle East conflict

Ninety overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families have safely returned to the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In a statement, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Sunday night, March 8 at 9:40 p.m. aboard an Emirates Airlines flight.

Around 33 of the OFWs who returned to the Philippines asked to be repatriated while the others were stranded due to flight troubles.  

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said among the youngest repatriated was a one-month-old baby – a dependent of one of the OFWs.

“There are three or four kids that we saw, and we met a couple, senior citizens who are parents of an OFW, so they're counted as dependents,” he said in a press briefing.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said most of the repatriated OFWs are still tied to their employers. 

“Maybe they’re still hoping to return to their employers once the conflict subsides,” she added. 

Caunan said the repatriates are “really relieved.” Some of them turned emotional upon arriving in Manila while others were “more calm.”

“Many approached us asking for reintegration assistance,” she said.

According to the DMW, around 400 OFWs and their dependents have so far been repatriated since March 5 amid the Middle East conflict. 

More batches of OFWs and their dependents are expected to be repatriated in the coming weeks.

But Cacdac said the airspace closures or limitations remain a challenge for the government. 

He said the DMW has identified exit points in the Middle East countries, where Filipinos can be brought to “safer grounds” before eventual repatriation. 

“These are land crossings because most airspace and airports in these eight countries are either closed or restricted,” Cacdac said. 

Asked if a Philippine Navy ship may be sent to assist repatriations of Filipinos in the Middle East, Cacdac said the military presence of another country amid an armed conflict “may complicate the situation.” 

“It takes longer to journey by sea. That’s one. And secondly, it’s not advisable at this stage to have the presence of another military vehicle or ship.”

According to the DMW, the government is extending pre- and post-repatriation services, including financial and reintegration assistance. 

Repatriations of Filipinos from countries in the Middle East are currently ongoing amid the tension in the region that stemmed from the United States and Israel’s attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliation.

On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that 11 Filipinos have safely left Iran for Van, Turkey, thanks to the efforts of the Philippine embassies in Tehran and Ankara. 

The DFA said it will assist around 800 Filipinos still in Iran should they wish to return to the Philippines.

Also on Sunday, an earlier batch of 61 OFWs who were stranded in the UAE arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3. The day before, 81 OFWs were also repatriated from the Middle East. — With reports from Bea Pinlac/JMA, GMA Integrated News