A group of 345 overseas Filipinos including 10 minors has been repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday from Oman.
According to the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, this is the first special chartered flight mounted by the Department from this GCC country.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said that the Delta variant has forced increasing number of overseas foreign workers (OFWs) to seek help.
“The increased number of stranded OFWs in the country prompted our Embassy in Muscat, Oman to request for a chartered repatriation flight,” said Arriola.
“The extension of the IATF pronouncement covering countries with Delta variant also triggered the increased number of OFWs leading the Department to take a quick action to remedy the situation,” she added.
The DFA said that in addition to the return flight ticket the repatriates will be provided with free swab test and free stay at a quarantine facility and a $200 or PHP10,000 reintegration assistance.
Arriola said two more repatriation flights are scheduled on August 10 and 25, and the Philippine embassy in Muscat will continue to accept applications for the scheduled repatriations from Oman.
