Marcos orders release of P3B more for repatriation of OFWs from Middle East

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the release of an additional P3 billion for the repatriation and reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the Middle East conflict.

The added funds will be spent for the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) “repatriation chain, from post- departure assistance, to flights, to reintegration,” Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said in a statement on Sunday.

“War or not, there are Filipinos in extreme distress that we should bring home,” he said.

As of June 17, 2026, 10,446 Filipinos from the Middle East have safely returned to the Philippines through the DMW’s humanitarian flights.

This number includes 8,281 OFWs, 1,803 dependents, and 362 stranded citizens.

“If you will recall, these flights became medevacs for sick Filipinos as well. The DMW, through the brilliant leadership of Secretary Hans Cacdac, brought medical personnel on board to care for them,” Recto said.

Marcos topped up the OFW assistance fund because he “does not want repatriation to be a mere airport-to-airport thing.”

“Ang utos nya ay hindi pwedeng paglapag dito, bahala na kayo. Ang gusto ng Pangulo, may hatid sa probinsya sa lubhang nangangailangan, at higit sa lahat mga economic opportunities,” the Executive Secretary added.

(The President wants the OFWs in need to be ferried to the provinces, and be given economic opportunities.)

The standard welcome package for OFWs includes financial assistance, psychosocial counseling, medical assessment, reemployment guidance, and livelihood assistance.

“By tapping the skills of the OFWs honed by their work abroad, society benefits as well. This is a kind of technology transfer that helps the economy. This is a brain gain we need,” Recto said.

So far, the DMW has already conducted 15 “Bayanihan Para Sa Balikbayang Manggagawa National Reintegration Network and Job Fairs” nationwide for the OFWs’ reintegration into the workforce.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), through its “Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay Program” has also given livelihood aid to 664 recently returning OFWs, who received as much as P20,000 in start-up assistance. — JMA, GMA News