NINETY overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) safely returned home late Sunday night from the Middle East, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.
In a press briefing, the DMW said 90 OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Emirates Airline Flight EK 334 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"Among those who returned home were 33 OFWs, who took advantage of the government's repatriation offer, while the rest were stranded OFWs in Dubai," Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said.
The department said the 90 OFWs received assistance from their host country until their arrival in the Philippines.
"The government is providing all kinds of pre-repatriation assistance to all returning OFWs, and financial assistance as part of post-repatriation assistance to them," Cacdac said.
Since March 5, a total of 399 OFWs and 12 dependents have returned to the country after the crisis in the Middle East flared up Feb. 28.
Aside from booking flight seats for OFWs, Cacdac said the agency is working to charter flights to hasten repatriation efforts.
Cacdac said the DMW is in talks to charter flights to ferry OFWs who sought to be brought home.
"Efforts are currently underway to get our people across the border of each of the eight affected countries in the Middle East. We are now undertaking efforts to charter flights. We are working on the matter to charter flights," Cacdac said.
He said numerous challenges exist before the plan is put into action.
"There are challenges like if there are airspace available, the logistics for crossing borders, coordination with host countries, dealing with different host country protocols, and then there are the missile and drone attacks, as well as debris projectiles. For now, effoets continue to get the OFWs across first," Cacdac said.
The DMW statement follows Vice President Sara Duterte's earlier remark that the National Government could easily charter a flight to repatriate Filipinos affected by the conflict. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)