One hundred overseas Filipino workers came back home to the Philippines from Bahrain on New Year's day, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola reported on Jan. 1 the arrival of the OFWs in Manila on the same day.
"This New Year, our Middle East mission ends as we return to Manila together with 100 OFWs from Bahrain. This DFA facilitated repatriation was made possible by Philippine Embassy in Bahrain," Arriola said on Twitter.
This came after over 500 distressed Filipinos from various countries were repatriated to the country in time for Christmas on Dec. 23 and 24, 2021.
On Dec. 24, close to 180 distressed Filipinos from Saudi Arabia and other parts of Europe arrived in the country via a chartered flight initiated by the government, through the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.
The repatriates have been economically displaced due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the DFA said.
On Dec. 23, a total of 354 distressed and stranded overseas Filipinos were also brought back to the country from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain also helped in the repatriation of close to 60 stranded overseas Filipinos from the foreign land on Nov. 26, 2021.