More than 300,000 OFW repatriated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

MANILA, Philippines – More than 300,000 Filipino Overseas Workers (OFW) have been repatriated since the start of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced.

A total of 90,621 or 30.12 percent of OFWs are based at sea, while 210,217 or 69.88 percent are on land.

“This is the largest repatriation effort in the history of the DFA and the Philippines. We appreciate the tireless efforts of our DFA staff who have been working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since February, ”said Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola.

“We also thank our Foreign Service Posts and our associated government agencies for their invaluable contribution to DFA’s repatriation efforts,” he added.

DFA also noted that among the 59 flights facilitated this week was a Philippine Airlines flight that brought home 319 distressed Filipinos overseas from Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Also included in the list of OFW repatriated this week were 18 workers from Jordan, 11 stranded Filipinos from Malaysia, nine undocumented OFWs from China and eight medical returnees from France, Japan, Austria, Oman, UAE (United Arab Emirates) and the United States. .

In addition, according to DFA, among those repatriated this week were two sailors from the Bahamas and a distraught Filipino student from Austria.

The department said it is doubling down on its efforts to bring more Filipinos home during the Christmas season.