DFA Brings Home 7,928 Overseas Filipinos this Week, Hits the 59K-Mark in COVID-19 Repatriations

PASAY CITY 27 June 2020 — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) brought home an additional 7,928 Overseas Filipinos (OFs) this week, bringing the total number of OFs repatriated since the Wuhan flight in February to 59,041 as of today.

Of the total, 53.67 percent (31,688) are sea-based and 46.33 percent (27,353 OFs) are land-based, with the most recent repatriates arriving from Barbados, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the UAE yesterday.

During the week, the DFA facilitated seven flights from Saudi Arabia which brought home a total of 2,055 OFs. There were also six flights from the UAE which brought home 1,526 fellow Filipinos.

Meanwhile, the DFA chartered a special flight to repatriate over 300 Filipinos from Qatar on 25 June 2020.

This week, the DFA assisted in the safe return of Baby Danice, who recently underwent a liver transplant in India and got stranded with her parents due to the lockdown in the country. She was included in the special repatriation flight AI 1310 from New Delhi on 23 June 2020.

The Philippine government, through the DFA, also worked closely with the governments of Papua New Guinea and Myanmar, in arranging special sweeper flights to bring home almost 170 stranded overseas Filipinos. The sweeper flights also brought home stranded PNG and Myanmar nationals in the Philippines back to their countries.

The DFA also celebrated its 122nd founding anniversary this week and remains fully committed to bringing home our nationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Overseas Filipinos who wish to seek assistance in repatriation may contact the nearest Philippine embassy or consulate in their area. END