Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III stated that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai (POLO-Dubai) stated that they are eyeing more flights from the emirate to land in the Philippines in the coming days.
Bello pointed out that the lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) placed restrictions on the number of flights. This comes as many Filipinos have reported that their flights had been cancelled several times already even after booking their own tickets.
“Sa Dubai, nagkaproblema tayo dahil sa lockdown. Wala nakakalipad pa ngayon,” said Bello during a press briefing at Malacañang.
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The UAE has allowed several flights towards the Philippines as early as February 2020 but there are still more OFWs who intend to head back home, with some even spending their own money just to be reunited with their families in the Philippines.
Secretary Bello is optimistic that authorities would soon be provided with clearance so that more flights from Dubai to the Philippines will be allowed soon.
“Pero our labor attache reported to us that maybe in two or three days, baka mabigyan sila ng clearance na pwede nang i-allow some selective flights to send our OFWs back to our country,” said Bello.
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