Some 220 Filipinos pardoned by the United Arab Emirates will soon be able to come home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday, Jan. 6.
UAE and Philippine flags (Photo courtesy of Emirates News Agency)
In a statement sent by DFA Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro to Malacañang, the department said that together with the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, they are now working to bring the Filipinos home.
The pardoning of the Filipinos happened on the occasion of UAE's 53rd National Day and “following representations made by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. with his UAE counterpart,” the DFA added.
“The pardon for Filipinos, announced on 26 December 2024, was granted in view of the distinguished friendship between the two countries. It is the direct result of President Marcos' meeting with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, last November,” it said.
The Filipinos were detained in UAE for various offenses, and were part of the list of pardon traditionally granted by the UAE government to celebrate its National Day every Dec. 2.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi are currently processing the documentary and administrative requirements for the immediate return of the pardoned Filipino nationals to the country,” the DFA stressed.
This was not the first UAE pardoned Filipinos.
In June 2024, a total of 143 Filipinos detained there were pardoned on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.