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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DFA achieves milestone in repatriating 300,838 displaced OFWs

DFA achieves milestone in repatriating 300,838 displaced OFWs

Published Dec 14, 2020 09:07 am

After almost 10 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has achieved a milestone in its repatriation effort by bringing home a total of 300,838 overseas Filipinos from all over the world.

MANILA BULLETIN FILE

Based on the DFA tally, 90,621 (30.12 percent) of the repatriates are sea-based workers while 210,217 (69.88 percent) are land-based.

The Department also broke another record this week with the repatriation of 13,537 overseas Filipinos - its highest weekly total since February. 

Last week, it facilitated 59 flights including a chartered Philippine Airlines flight that brought home 319 distressed overseas Filipinos from Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The Dammam flight was the 5th DFA-chartered flight that repatriated stranded compatriots from the Kingdom’s eastern region.

The Philippine Embassy in Port Moresby also assisted in the safe return of overseas Filipinos from the Solomon Islands while the Philippine Embassy in Amman partnered with the International Organization for Migration in the repatriation of 18 Filipinos from Jordan. 

The various Foreign Service Posts likewise assisted in bringing home 11 stranded Filipinos from Malaysia, nine undocumented OFWs from China, eight medical repatriates from France, Japan, Austria, Oman, UAE, and the USA, three undocumented OFWs and possible victims of trafficking-in-persons from Qatar, Egypt, and Syria; two seafarers from the Bahamas, and one distressed Filipino student from Australia.

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