The Labor Department has repatriated some 348 stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFW) from the United Arab Emirates including 67 pregnant women and 30 OFWs with medical condition on Sunday.
This is the fourth batch of repatriation since the implementation of the travel restrictions on UAE and six other countries due to the Delta COVID-19 variant threat.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai reported to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello that the OFW repatriates left UAE on Saturday, July 10, and arrived in Manila on Sunday morning via flight PR 8659 of the Philippine Airlines.
The chartered flight was paid for by OWWA, according to the statement.
The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai is doubling efforts to bring home around 2,000 OFWs and their families stranded in the emirates.
“Four more DOLE-OWWA repatriation flights are set on July 12, 17, 27 and 30,” DOLE said in a statement.
Some repatriates have been staying at the Bahay Kalinga in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, before they were flown home.
“The rest of the OFW passengers are those with canceled flights or overstayers in UAE,” the statement added.
“The repatriated OFWs will undergo quarantine and will be transported to their respective hometowns after they were cleared and tested negative of COVID-19,” DOLE said.
OWWA will take care of their hotel accommodation and food while waiting for the result of their COVID-19 test.
