THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has brought home close to 200,000 overseas Filipinos since the country’s biggest repatriation campaign started in February. At least 9,574 were brought the past week.
Of the total 195,224, the sea-based workers number 67,484 (34.6 percent) while 127,740 (65.4 percent) are land-based.
This week, two DFA-chartered flights from Saudi Arabia brought home 711 overseas Filipinos. Among them was OFW Rose Policarpio whose acquittal from murder charges was secured through the DFA’s steadfast assistance. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Sunday it will continue to help Policarpio get back on her feet financially through assistance in various labor programs.
Last Saturday, the DFA welcomed an additional 317 Filipinos, including 12 children from Lebanon. They joined the DFA-chartered Philippine Airlines flight which also brought 5,000 boxes of relief goods for the Filipino community in Lebanon and medical supplies for Lebanese beneficiaries. The donations came mainly from the Lucio Tan Group of companies.
The DFA said it remains fully committed to its Assistance-to-Nationals mandate and its daily repatriation efforts in this ongoing battle against Covid-19 pandemic.
Bulk of those repatriated were displaced as the pandemic gouged the economies of their host countries or shuttered their employers’ businesses; others were distressed for a variety of reasons. The sea-based workers accounted for more than a third, as thousands of Filipino mariners were among those stranded at sea when lockdowns were imposed by nations around the world to contain Covid-19, leaving dozens of cruise ships unable to berth at their usual ports.