62 more OFWs repatriated from Saudi Arabia; total reaches 574

MANILA — Another 62 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia arrived in the Philippines on Friday night as the government continues its repatriation efforts amid flight disruptions and tensions in the Middle Eastern country.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 at around 10:20 p.m., accompanying the latest batch of returning Filipinos.

The arrival brings the total number of repatriated OFWs from Saudi Arabia to 574, following the return of 512 Filipinos in previous operations.

Cacdac said many of the latest returnees had been unable to fly home for nearly three weeks after flights from Riyadh to Manila were disrupted following the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport.

“Walang Riyadh to Manila pa rin na flights. So, talagang maraming naantala,” Cacdac said, noting that although the airport reopened four days earlier, flight operations had yet to fully normalize.

The DMW chief said around 500 more OFWs are expected to be brought home within the next four to five days, pushing the number of repatriated Filipinos beyond 1,000.

“Lalagpas tayo ng 1,000 within the next four to five days,” he said.

Cacdac recently returned from a solidarity and assistance mission in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where he met with Filipino workers and community leaders to assess their situation and provide government assistance.

He also thanked the Saudi government for ensuring the safety of Filipinos despite several security alerts during the delegation’s five-day stay.

“Sa sarili kong mga mata, nakita ko ‘yung proteksyon, ‘yung ganap na proteksyon na binibigay ng Kaharian ng Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that no OFWs were injured during the security alerts they experienced.

Meanwhile, the DMW has extended financial assistance to around 3,900 Filipinos in Saudi Arabia since October 10, when airport disruptions began. Of this number, approximately 3,700 were airport workers and employees in related industries whose jobs and livelihoods were affected.

They include ground crew, maintenance personnel, duty-free employees, airport concessionaires, and flight attendants.

Apart from financial assistance, the government is also helping returning OFWs find new employment through skills profiling and job matching.

Cacdac said the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are gathering information on the returning workers’ skills, work experience, educational backgrounds, and other relevant details to match them with available job opportunities, both locally and overseas.

“From there, we already do active labor market intervention. So mina-match namin sila sa mga job orders,” he said.

The government is also coordinating with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide skills training for returning workers who want to pursue other careers.

These employment and training programs will be provided alongside the financial assistance available to returning OFWs.

Cacdac said repatriation assistance is expected to ease once regular flights between Riyadh and Manila resume, although support will remain available for distressed OFWs.