Hundreds of distressed overseas Filipino workers from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia returned to the Philippines just in time for Christmas, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday, Dec. 24.
A total of 354 distressed or stranded overseas Filipinos arrived in Manila on Thursday, Dec. 23, through a special repatriation flight chartered by the DFA.
"Knowing full well a Filipino’s yearning to be with their loved ones during Christmas, the government exerted its utmost to bring home our kababayan so that they could celebrate this season of cheer with their families,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said.
The returning nationals will undergo stringent facility-based quarantine provided by the government, in conformity with the health protocols set by the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine.
"The repatriates expressed thanks for the opportunity to be reunited with their families, thanking the Philippine government for mounting the special repatriation flight," Arriola said, adding that "most had given up hope of going home as they could not find flights back to the Philippines."
The undersecretary further said that the Philippine government upholds the one-country team approach by continuously collaborating with the Department of Health (DOH), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to ensure the safety and welfare of returning Filipinos.