DFA Brings Home 761 Filipinos from the Middle East Via Chartered Flights

PASAY CITY 16 June 2020 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) brought home yesterday a total of 761 Filipinos from the Middle East — Lebanon and UAE — via two separate chartered flights.

The first batch of repatriates was composed of 405 stranded OFWs in Lebanon, most of whom are household service workers (HSWs). They arrived safely in NAIA Terminal 2 on board Qatar Airways QR3150 at around 1:20 pm. Meanwhile, the second batch, comprised of 356 stranded Overseas Filipinos in UAE, arrived soon after on board Cebu Pacific 5J19 at around 2:40 pm.

The Filipino repatriates were subjected to COVID-19 testing upon their arrival. They were also briefed on quarantine protocols before they were transported to designated facilities where they will undergo mandatory quarantine in accordance with the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force.

The Middle East is home to over 2 million overseas Filipinos, 29,676 of whom are in Lebanon and 618,726 are in the UAE as of 2019. The DFA, together with its Philippine embassies and consulates around the world, remains fully committed to bringing home our nationals abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic. END

(Photos by DFA-OUMWA)