A total of 689 Filipino workers from Kuwait and Malaysia who were affected by the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine arrived today and last night on board special flights.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said 303 OFWs from Kuwait arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 before midnight last night at 11:50pm.
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Agents from various agencies including Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, Bureau of Quarantine “cheered” as this batch of repatriates arrived on the fourth day of repatriation.
Another batch of 301 repatriates from Kuwait arrived this morning. They were on board Kuwait Airways, which was commissioned by the Kuwaiti government to bring home hundreds of OFWs.
Kuwait has allowed Filipino and other nationals who are staying illegally in Kuwait to leave under an amnesty program. Under the amnesty program, payment of legal fines is waived and flights back to the Philippines is free.
Around 2pm today, 83 Filipinos from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia arrived in Manila on board Malaysia Airlines special flight MH704.
According to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, most of the 83 repatriates are Filipinos on temporary visit passes, who became stranded after unexpected cancellations of flights from Kuala Lumpur to Manila after 18 March 2020, in light of government-imposed measures by both Malaysia and the Philippines against the spread of COVID-19.
The special flight for Kuala Lumpur to Manila was opened on April 5 to give stranded Filipinos in Kuala Lumpur an opportunity to return home.
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The MAS plane also transported Malaysian nationals from Manila to Kuala Lumpur on its return flight.
The Bureau of Quarantine conducted a medical inspection onboard before the repatriates were allowed to disembark from the planes.
Then, all OFW repatriates are required to fill out health declaration forms and information sheets in accordance with standard protocols of the Bureau of Quarantine.
They were brought to a halfway home of OWWA, where they will stay for the duration of the quarantine period.
