The ongoing repatriation effort of the Philippine government amid the travel ban gives tremendous hope for thousands of stranded Filipinos in the UAE who have no option to travel back home due to recent developments after the imposition of stricter border control.
The travel restrictions for passengers from a number of countries including the UAE and Oman which started since May 2021, as well as the daily passenger cap being implemented at the Ninoy Aquino International airport, has affected scores of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on an unprecedented scale.
For the fifth time, the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) extended the travel ban again from July 15 until July 31st, as part of the government’s measures to prevent the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Despite the travel ban on an ad hoc basis, the government assured assistance for stranded OFWs in the UAE, especially distressed individuals and those with urgent medical conditions. In June alone, five sweeper flights were funded to fetch OFWs and fly them home.
Last July 12, some 332 Filipinos, of which 22 were children, 37 were pregnant women, and 57 had medical cases, had been repatriated. Each of these repatriates brought with them different stories and experiences during the pandemic.
personally accompanied by Amb. Quintana
A mother’s plea
Among them were the husband and child of Krisna Ricamora, a Pinay frontliner who came to the UAE in 2012.
Krisna needed to send Lucas, her child with special needs, to be accompanied by her husband, for she was set to head for the United States for a work opportunity this July, leaving no one to take care of their child.
However, they got offloaded during their initial repatriation schedule back in June when they found out that there wasn’t any available oxygen facility on the plane for their child.
Krisna’s pleas reached Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin, who had sympathized with the plight of the family and vowed to go ‘all out’ to help them.
“Sarah (Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola), let’s go all out for this kid. He has a special place in DFA heart as you well know,” wrote Locsin in a Twitter post.
In an interview with The Filipino Times, Krisna personally thanked Locsin for initiating help to include them in the July 12 repatriation flight. She said: “Thank you po kay Secretary Teddyboy (Locsin) dahil na-prioritize yung mag-ama at maraming assistance na pinrovide. Pinakinggan po nila ang mga request ko lalo na kay Lucas. Kampante ako na makakauwi sila nang maayos.”
Her husband, Arnold, also praised and thanked the efforts of Philippine authorities: “Nagpapasalamat po ako sa malaking tulong para makauwi po kami lalong lalo na ung anak namin sa tulong at pag assist na binigay sa baby po namin.”
Pregnancy woes
Among the priorities of the DFA is to assist expectant mothers who don’t have proper health insurance in the UAE and couldn’t afford to deliver their babies here.
“Carmela”, an HR practitioner based in Abu Dhabi, lamented that her company couldn’t shift her status from single to married since they didn’t want to spend extra money for her insurance.
“Yung insurance ko kasi, pang ‘single’ lang. Nung inilapit ko sa kumpanya, mahal daw ang insurance at hindi ito ma-change status ng kumpanya ko ang insurance dahil mas mahal daw,” said Carmela.
She booked her ticket for July, in time for her seventh month. However, due to the announcement of the travel ban extension, she also applied for repatriation to make sure that she delivers her baby in the Philippines.
“Buti na lamang at na-consider ng embahada yung kalagayan naming mga buntis dahil napakalaki ng magagastos kung dito pa kami sa UAE manganganak,” said Carmela, who was repatriated flight last July 12.
Stranded families
When co-mother-in-laws Gina Carbungco, 55 and Jacqueline Mallari, 57 arrived in the UAE in February 2021, their only intention was to bring their grandchild to his parents who work as nurses here. The family decided to extend their tourist visas a few more months in early May and rescheduled their flights in July. Unfortunately, their scheduled flight to the Philippines last July 10 got affected.
It was at this point in time when Aram Lee, son of Mallari, decided to seek the help of the Philippine Embassy to take his mom and mother-in-law home through repatriation flights, since he together with his wife and child are set to fly to the USA by July 26, leaving no one to take care of the ‘mag-balae’ here in the UAE.
“Nag e-mail ako July 2 tungkol sa kalagayan ng nanay ko at mother-in-law, tapos noong July 6, nag-message agad ang embahada ukol sa flight details nila,” said Lee.
Carbungco and Mallari were among the 332 Filipinos from Abu Dhabi granted a seat in the repatriation flight led by the DFA. They thanked the Philippine government for granting them the opportunity to head back home, stressing that they don’t have jobs nor the capacity to live in the UAE without their children.
“Maraming salamat at natulungan kami ng Philippine Embassy para makauwi. May maintenance kami at mga gamot kasi diabetic kami. Kapag naiwan kami dito, wala kaming insurance at walang trabaho. Kaya maraming salamat po sa inyong sa mabilis na aksyon,” said Mallari.
Carbungco added that the Philippine government’s sense of urgency helped them to bid proper goodbyes to their children in the UAE before they parted ways.
“Maraming salamat po syempre unang una sa Panginoon and gobyerno ng Pilipinas lalo na kay Pangulong Duterte, sa Embassy at sa OWWA, natugunan yung tawag at pangangailangan naming makauwi sa ating bayan,” said Carbungco.
There are three more repatriation flights from the UAE scheduled this coming July 17, 29, and 31.
