Flights carrying Filipino workers have begun landing in Manila as conflict spreads across the Middle East. Government agencies have started bringing home Filipinos affected by the crisis in the region.
Several groups of overseas Filipino workers recently arrived through coordinated repatriation efforts. Meanwhile, authorities are preparing a larger evacuation flight that could bring hundreds more Filipinos back to the country.
On Wednesday afternoon, 20 Filipino workers from Qatar arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. Later that evening, another group of Filipinos arrived from Israel after traveling through Cairo and Muscat. Philippine embassies, the Department of Migrant Workers, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Soon after, 25 Filipinos and one dependent from Dubai landed in Manila through Emirates Airlines flight EK 334. Earlier in the week, additional Filipino workers also returned from the United Arab Emirates. These arrivals form part of continuing repatriation efforts as tensions persist across the region.
Authorities are now preparing a chartered flight from the United Arab Emirates to bring home a larger group of Filipinos. The aircraft has the capacity to carry up to 480 passengers, including migrant workers, tourists, and dependents who requested assistance. Some cases also involve Filipinos with medical conditions who require immediate help.
“The capacity of the chartered flight is 480. From our side, more or less, we have 136. From the Migrant Workers Office, there are more or less 270, because there are some who backed out. There will also be a contingent from Abu Dhabi, more or less 90,” Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III, on preparations for the government-arranged charter flight returning Filipinos from Dubai.
Meanwhile, government agencies are preparing assistance for workers returning to the Philippines. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Social workers assess the needs of returning workers and provide counseling, stress debriefing, financial assistance, and transportation support for travel back to their home provinces.
