More than 60 more remains of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia are slated to be repatriated this weekend, said an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday.
“There is a schedule on July 19 and we are looking at about 66 human remains, [both] COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases that will be repatriated to the country,” said Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay in a Laging Handa briefing.
With the scheduled repatriation of the second batch of dead OFWs, the number of bodies that are needed to be brought home is now only 159 from 274.
“The DOLE together with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in coordination with other government agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Local Interior Government, Bureau of Quarantine, embassies, Department of Health and Philippine Airlines for their assistance for us to be able to bring home the remains,” she said.
An initial batch of 49 bodies repatriated from Saudi Arabia arrived in the country last July 10.
Of this number, 20 OFWs died from COVID-19 while 29 have died of other causes.
