LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Friday, June 26, 2020, said the remains of 301 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will be brought home in July.
Bello said 152 died from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) while 149 died from other causes.
"We assure families of the unfortunate OFWs that the bodies will be flown home by early next month," said Bello.
He said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved the repatriation of the remains of these migrant workers, including those who died from Covid-19.
The task force earlier decided that Covid-19 mortalities shall be buried in Saudi Arabia and shall no longer be brought home.
"Part of the preparations is the set of protocols from the Department of Health for the handling, reception, and domestic transport of the dead Covid-19 victims," Bello said.
Based on initial preparations, the remains will be transported from various points to Riyadh and Jeddah.
These will then be flown to the country by the second week of July on board two chartered planes, which will separately fly the Covid-19 mortalities and those who died of non-Covid-19 causes.
The Department of Labor and Employment, meanwhile, will notify the families of the scheduled arrival of the remains of their loved ones, along with their respective local government units, to allow their domestic transport.
Upon arrival in the country, Bello said the bodies of Covid-19 victims will be transported directly to the crematoriums of choice of the family or the LGU.
Bello said the remains of those who died of natural or other causes, on the other hand, may be fetched at the airport by their respective families. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)