DFA Repatriates 65 More Distressed OFWs From UAE

Some of the 65 Filipinos repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs from the United Arab Emirates await their turn at the immigration gate, upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on 25 July 2018. (Department of Foreign Affairs photo)

25 July 2018 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today welcomed the arrival of 65 more distressed Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates.

The latest repatriation brings to almost a thousand the total number of Overseas Filipino Workers who were flown home from the Gulf state since the start of the year.

In a statement, the DFA said the continuing repatriation of distressed OFWs is in line with the commitment made by President Duterte in his recent State of the Nation Address where he said the welfare and well-being of Filipinos overseas “remains our foremost foreign policy.”

“We welcome home today another batch of 65 distressed Filipinos, mostly victims of illegal recruiters, from Abu Dhabi,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said.

“Like what President Duterte said during his SONA, I condemn strongly the abuses being experienced by our OFWs in the hands of their recruiters or employers,” Secretary Cayetano said.

“When these abuses happen, the DFA can be expected to act decisively to protect our kababayan and bring them home,” Secretary Cayetano said.

The Secretary said the DFA shouldered the cost of processing of exit passes, airfare to Manila and to the home provinces of the repatriates.

The Secretary said he expects the number of repatriates from the UAE to rise significantly in the coming months with the amnesty program of the UAE Government.

“Rest assured the DFA, through our Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General in Dubai, will assist our kababayan in need in resolving their immigration cases and repatriating them,” Secretary Cayetano said.

According to Charge d’Affaires Rowena R. Pangilinan-Daquipil of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, a total of 969 Filipinos have now been repatriated from the UAE since January.

Of this number, Charge d’Affaires Pangilinan-Daquipil said 757 stayed at the Embassy shelter, while 212 were walk-in clients.

Charge d’Affaires Pangilinan-Daquipil said the Embassy continues to work with UAE authorities to address the concerns of OFWs, especially domestic workers.

“With the signing of the UAE Law for Domestic Workers and the Philippines-UAE Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation in 2017, the Embassy hopes that incidents of abuse, maltreatment, detention, and other complaints by our domestic workers will decline,” Charge d’Affaires Pangilinan-Daquipil said.

She said the UAE Government has also implemented measures to advance the rights of Filipino domestic workers in the Gulf country.

According to Embassy estimates, around 643,000 Filipinos live or work in the UAE most of them in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. END