91 overseas Filipinos repatriated from Bahrain, DFA says

Ninety-one Filipinos stranded in Bahrain due to the COVID-19 pandemic were repatriated on October 6, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

The repatriated Filipinos included minors, pardoned detainees, overstaying overseas Filipinos, pregnant women, medical patients, and wards at the Embassy Shelter, the DFA said.

They were flown to the Philippines on board Gulf Air's direct commercial flight.

The repatriation was coordinated by the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain, which negotiated for discounted tickets with the airline.

The DFA said the embassy paid for the air fare of 39 undocumented repatriates via the department's Assistance-to-Nationals Funds.

It added that the DFA's Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration coordinated with concerned government agencies to exempt the repatriates from arrival limitations and to facilitate their stay in quarantine facilities. —KG, GMA News