MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday that the Philippine government is organizing two chartered flights to repatriate overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) wishing to leave the conflict-stricken Middle East.
One flight will depart from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to accommodate Filipinos traveling from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The second flight is scheduled to leave Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Friday, March 13, for those departing from Dubai. The President, speaking during a working visit to New York, stated that Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac would accompany the flight from Dubai to provide an accurate on-the-ground report of the situation.
“We are arranging charter flights because the situation has somewhat eased up,” Marcos said, noting that several Filipinos have already been repatriated via commercial Emirates flights as the crisis enters its second week.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed that 32 Filipinos, including workers and their dependents, arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday night via an Oman Air flight. The group consisted of 20 workers from the UAE and three from Muscat, Oman. Additional individuals from Dubai and Saudi Arabia who arranged their own travel also received government assistance upon arrival in Manila.
The government continues to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of Filipinos in the region and to facilitate further repatriations as needed.