More than 350 distressed overseas Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia arrived in the country Wednesday.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the 354 OFWs arrived via a chartered flight.
The Labor department said the repatriation of the OFWs is in line with its efforts to provide assistance to OFWs adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa, majority of the passengers are distressed OFWs from Philippine Overseas Labor Office’s Bahay Kalinga in Riyadh, and from temporary shelters maintained by the POLOs in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.
Also included in the flight are 12 workers from Jussur Emdad, 45 workers from Arkad Co., as well as 14 OFWs previously employed by Abdullah Aldossary, Azmeel Contracting Co., Rakan Trading, which are all based in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said workers from Freyssinet, Jussur Emdad, Samana Company and Rent Human Resources, and other walk-in clients whose exit visas were facilitated by POLO, were also in the same flight.
"Unfortunately, some of our OFWs have been greatly impacted by the pandemic and we hope that our repatriation efforts would bring them comfort as they will soon join their families and loved ones,” he said in a statement.
Bello already instructed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to provide all necessary assistance to the OFWs.
The DOLE has so far transported more than 111,400 returning OFWs to their respective provinces.