MANILA — As tensions in the area continue to rise, the Philippine government is getting ready to return another group of Filipino workers abroad from four Middle Eastern nations on a single chartered flight on Sunday, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said on Saturday.
On March 23, the government-chartered plane is scheduled to take off from Riyadh with OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. According to OWWA, this is the first time that workers from four nations have been combined into a single repatriation flight.
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan flew to Riyadh with the agency’s response team to personally oversee the operation. According to OWWA, 88 OFWs from Bahrain and 99 from Kuwait had already arrived in Riyadh as of Saturday, while the DMW–OWWA Rapid Response Team continues to assist OFWs from Qatar ahead of their transfer to the Saudi capital.
“In Riyadh, Caunan immediately welcomed our fellow Filipinos who traveled from Kuwait and Bahrain with the assistance of teams from the Department of Migrant Workers, OWWA and the Philippine embassies,” the agency said in a statement.
Their arrival in Riyadh forms part of preparations for the fourth government-chartered repatriation flight and the second organized directly by OWWA. The response team is still processing documents and visas, arranging land and air transportation, and securing temporary accommodations for affected workers.
“The primary goal of this operation is to guarantee the safety of our OFWs and bring them home safely to their families in the Philippines,” OWWA said.
Philippine diplomatic missions in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar are coordinating with DMW and OWWA field staff to ensure all eligible workers are identified and included in the repatriation roll before the March 23 departure.
