Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Friday that at least 50,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would be repatriated by the end of July as COVID-19 continues to hit the global economy.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola announced this before the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs as she appealed for the additional funds since there was an increase in the department’s expensed due to the continued repatriation of OFWs.
According to Arriola, DFA has repatriated over 86,000 OFWs, of which 21,171 were repatriated in July alone.
“We are hoping to bring home 50,557 by the end of the month,” Arriola said.
Of the over 21,000 OFWs repatriated in July, 14,380 were from the Middle East. The rest were from Asia and the Pacific (2,934), Americas (2,359), Europe (1,478), and Africa (20).
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary said repatriation efforts were costly, given the restriction of flights amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Arriola cited that for July alone, the DFA has endorsed 53 flights from the United Arab Emirates, 21 flights from Qatar, and 42 flights in Saudi Arabia.
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“We have P232 million [left], and that its enough until the end of August. Our spending increased by 72.5%,” Arriola said.
“The problem with Qatar is the ticket is very expensive. For commercial flights, it should be Qatar Airways. Iyong mga kababayan po nating may dati ng ticket, hindi po mairebook kasi wala nga pong commercial flights,” she added.
She also said that the number of around OFWs needing repatriation is not yet final.
“We have OFWs in Uzbekistan needing repatriation, and unfortunately, we do not have an honorary consul and embassy there, so our embassy in Tehran, Iran will be mounting a very big repatriation effort to get them home,” Arriola said.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto said in the gearing that over 10,000 OFWs in Jeddah also need assistance for repatriation.
“We have 10,151 OFWs in Jeddah needing assistance. They have exit visas, but they have no capacity to pay for their tickets,” Alonto said.
“This (number) includes those who are undocumented. They are facing dire situations,” he added.