TWELVE more Filipino seafarers have survived another vessel attack in the Middle East, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a press briefing Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said there is another group of crew members that survived a sea attack aside from the 38 crew members of two tankers attacked in the Strait of Hormuz that were safely rescued.
"Thank God, the 12 Filipino crew members were safe from the attack off the waters of Iraq some three days ago," said Cacdac. "We expect them to be home soon. We know that their manning agencies are already taking care of their return."
The DMW chief also said that over 7,000 Filipino seafarers in the Gulf region have been marked as "safe" by their respective ship owners and manning agencies.
"We have monitored around 7,300 seafarers in and around the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman vicinity. All have been marked safe," said the official.
Cacdac said, however, that they continue to await word on the missing Filipino seafarer, who was on board an attacked tugboat that was assisting a distressed vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
"We are continuously awaiting the situation. We request patience and understanding of the public. We make no conclusions about what his current status is," said Cacdac.
In a related development, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) said more than 600 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are still expected to be repatriated in the coming days as the hostilities in the Middle East continue to escalate.
"Those ready for repatriation are totaling 657. These include those that will be on chartered flights as well as commercial flights," said Owwa Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan.
She said they will be added to the estimated 1,200 OFWs and dependents that have already been brought home in recent days.
"We are nearing 1,200 government-funded repatriation... Based on the numbers we have received, the dependents are around 282," said Caunan. "We are expecting that, by end of week, we are closing the week with around 2,000 government-sponsored repatriation."
The Owwa chief said the return of around 2,000 will bring the Philippine government relief as they compose majority of those that have requested to be repatriated following the eruption of the hostilities.
"At least there will be some relief. By next week, we can say that the initial requests for repatriation has been reduced quite a bit," said Caunan. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)