359 stranded OFWs arrive in Manila from UAE; Consulate says repatriation to continue

MANILA/DUBAI - Three hundred fifty-nine overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in United Arab Emirates arrived in Manila on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

They were on the 10th repatriation flight from UAE chartered by the DFA since June, the department said.

The Philippine Consulate, on Friday, said repatriation of OFWs will continue despite a ban announced by Malacañang on travelers from UAE over concerns about the coronavirus’ Delta variant.

This, as Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, head of the Philippine mission in Dubai and the neighboring northern emirates, urged OFWs not to file repatriation request unless their situation is urgent.

“Repatriations continue pa rin,” Cortes told GMA News Online. “We are mounting a few more for this month and then for September, meron din,” he added.

(Repatriations will still continue. We are mounting a few more for this month and then for September, we have some too.)

“Basta government repatriation, pang distressed OFWs dapat. Huwag naman 'yung magbabakasyon lang,” Cortes stressed.

(Government repatriation is for distressed OFWs, not for those who will go home for vacation.)

The consulate, duty-bound to review repatriation appeals, has encountered instances where the OFW requesting to be flown home was not at all in a dire situation.

“We nip them in the bud, so to speak,” Cortes said.

As of press time, Cortes said the consulate has over 5,000 pending appeals for repatriation, mostly by OFWs whose employment contracts have expired and who could not get a new or suitable job.

The ongoing repatriations, which started in June this year, were being done in coordination with the DFA's Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) by virtue of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Philippine Republic Act 11519), through which free tickets are issued.

Despite this however, flights have repeatedly been canceled and rescheduled, in the process creating a huge repatriation backlog at the Philippine Embassy and Consulate in the UAE.

In July, Cortes said the number of repatriation requests has more than doubled to over 6,000 in barely three weeks.

The Philippines, in an apparent effort to address concerns posed by the Delta variant, on Friday announced it will extend a ban on travelers from India and nine other countries, including the UAE, until the end of August.

The travel ban was first imposed on April 27 and has been extended several times.

It has been expanded to also include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the coronavirus task force to extend the travel restrictions from August 16 to August 31.

Cortes said approximately 2,500 OFWs have been flown home since repatriations started in June this year. There have been seven flights so far; three in June and five in July. —KG, GMA News