Close to 60 stranded overseas Filipinos in the Kingdom of Bahrain were recently sent back home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday, Dec. 1.
Five wards of the shelter of the Philippine Embassy in the foreign country, 10 Filipino detainees, and a two-month-old infant daughter of one of the detainees were among the 58 stranded overseas Filipinos who returned to the Philippines on Nov. 26.
They were brought back to the country through the repatriation program of the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain.
According to the DFA, the detainees were confined at the Female Detention Center for various offenses. They have since completed their respective sentences but were unable to leave Bahrain immediately due to the lack of available seats in flights bound for the Philippines.
The wards, on the other hand, were housed at the Embassy shelter after leaving their respective employers due to difficult working conditions.
"Through the Embassy’s efforts in coordinating with the DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), additional seats were made available by Gulf Air, at a special rate which enabled stranded Filipinos to return home," the agency said.
The Embassy likewise coordinated with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, the Bahrain Police, and the General Directorate for Reform and Rehabilitation of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the processing and issuance of the exit clearance of the repatriates.
The Embassy said it continues to provide assistance in repatriating distressed Filipinos in Bahrain as part of the government’s COVID-19 response program.