DFA aims to repatriate over 50,000 overseas Pinoys by end of July

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is targeting to repatriate more than 50,000 overseas Filipinos by the end of this month amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola made the remark on Tuesday during the hybrid meeting of the House Committee on Public Accounts for a briefing on the whole of government approach in its migration policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arriola said that as of the committee's last meeting on June 26, a total of 167,626 overseas Filipinos were still stranded in various countries abroad.

"[But] by the end of July, we can bring home 50,577. Ang estimated na maiiwan is 117,049," she said.

Arriola reported as of July 13, a total of 82,057 overseas Filipinos from 60 countries and 132 cruise ships have already been repatriated.

Of this number, 38,308 are sea-based and 43,749 are land-based.

Majority of these repatriates came from the Middle East, as this was the "hardest hit" subregion from COVID-19, Arriola added.

"For the July repatriations, sa United Arab Emirates 53 flights ang papasok. Napag-usapan kasi nung nakaraang hearing na marami sa ating mga kababayan ang may tickets na so napapayag natin ang CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) na magpapasok ng 53 flights," she said.

"Ang kagandahan nito, marami ang self-paid. We are just facilitating the entry of the flights to the Philippines," she added.

Arriola said they would be able to bring home the remaining 117,049 stranded Filipinos overseas after July in a month and a half to two months, but said that this number might still increase if no vaccine for COVID-19 has been discovered.

Aside from updates on repatriates, Arriola also gave the latest information regarding the number of overseas Filipinos infected with COVID-19.

She said that as of July 13, a total of 8,869 overseas Filipino workers have contracted COVID-19, of which 618 have died and 5,276 have recovered.

Majority of these cases come from the Middle East and Africa, at 6,429.

In the Philippines, meanwhile, a total of 57,006 cases of COVID-19 have been reported as of July 13, with 1,599 deaths and 20,371 recoveries. — BM, GMA News