PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the continued repatriation of Filipinos, especially migrant workers, affected by the war in the Middle East, Malacañang said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto noted Marcos’ directive for concerned agencies, particularly the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), to ensure government-arranged flights will bring home citizens from areas affected by the war.
“The instructions of the president are clear. To keep the humanitarian airlift going. So, this ‘Air DMW’ by Secretary Hans will continue,” Recto said.
To date, more than 1,000 Filipinos have been flown back to the country on repatriation flights.
The flights, Recto noted, also served as a medical evacuation of Filipinos in dire need of assistance.
The latest “mercy flight” ferried 343 Filipino workers and their dependents from Riyadh and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last March 15. Another chartered flight will bring more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) home by the end of this month.
Evacuation operations “that put premium on safety” are ongoing in Israel, Kuwait and Bahrain, Recto noted.
Funding for the initiative is drawn from the “Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan” fund of the DMW meant to aid Filipinos in distress.
Apart from repatriation flights, assistance to affected citizens also includes food assistance, transportation support, temporary accommodation, psychosocial counseling and medical services, Recto said.
On Tuesday, 125 OFWs returned home, the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Wednesday.
The DMW said the Filipinos arrived through five different flights, as part of the government’s intensified repatriation efforts.
While two of the flights were not disclosed, the OWWA made three posts on their Facebook page on some of the returning flights.
Late on Tuesday, Oman Airways Flight WY843 saw 20 OFWs from Oman and Israel arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
It was later followed by 23 OFWs and one dependent, who was on board Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 741 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Around midnight, 45 OFWs, along with their dependents, touched down at NAIA Terminal 3, after disembarking from Doha, Qatar, through Qatar Airways Flight QR 928.
“Amid fear and uncertainty in a foreign country, the government’s swift action and cooperation became their support in ensuring their safe return home,” OWWA said in Filipino.
Meanwhile, both agencies reposted an advisory from the Philippine Embassy in Israel, directing Filipinos to head to a shelter should they receive any emergency alerts, as the armed group Hezbollah would launch rocket barrages toward Israel.
