DFA Brings Home 574 OFWs From France, Saudi Arabia

(Photos by DFA-OUMWA)

PASAY CITY 23 April 2020 —Midweek hustle as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed home 233 land-based OFWs from Jeddah and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 341 Filipino seafarers of Costa Smeralda from Marseilles, France on 22 April 2020.

"As we expect to bring home over 35,000 more OFWs, we appeal to our kababayans to strictly observe and comply with the quarantine procedures imposed on all returning OFWs by the IATF," said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola.

Upon disembarkation, the repatriates were subjected to mandatory health assessment of the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine (DOH-BOQ). In compliance with the DOH health protocols, they will undergo a 14-day facility-based quarantine and be subjected to Rapid Antibody Testing for COVID-19.

During this critical situation, the DFA upholds the whole-of-government approach by continuously collaborating and cooperating with the DOH, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Philippine Coast Guard as well as the private sector to ensure the safety and welfare of Filipinos around the world. END