Among the first batch of Filipinos who availed of the UAE amnesty program and decided to go back to the Philippines, all expenses paid for by the government, are children of overseas Filipinos.
Amid the sea of OFWs inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, Rosemen Salvador arrived from Dubai today, along with over a hundred other Filipinos who had either overstayed or faced absconding cases.
For Salvador, the free flight tickets given by the Philippine government are a relief for insolvent OFWs like her, especially that she did not come home alone. She flew to Manila with her three children, aged 9, 10, and 11.
She told The Filipino Times that her husband, who serves as their sponsor, returned to Pakistan to settle certain issues. But due to unforeseen circumstances that her husband faced in Pakistan, Salvador had to stay in the UAE to take care of their children. She waited for nine months until her visa expired.
When she heard of the news about the amnesty, she immediately went to Al Aweer center in Dubai last August 1 to avail of the program.
The Filipina who stayed in the UAE for fifteen years said she wanted to take the opportunity to clear their overstaying case, and to bring home her children for the first time as well.
For now, they will stay in her relative’s residence in Novaliches City before they travel to her hometown in Antique.
Salvador said she plans to enroll her children to school and stay in the country for a few years. While the possibility of returning to Dubai is still an option, she wants to enjoy her stay in the Philippines for now and spend more time with her family whom she had not seen for a very long time.
Her kids were not the only minors present in the flight. Sources told TFT that there were six children in the first batch of OFW grantees who returned to the Philippines on Thursday, August 16, and that more minors are expected to be included in the next batches of OFWs returnees.
