August 8 ------ A total of 289 stranded Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been repatriated from Kuwait, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said the repatriated OFWs had already arrived. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) facilitated the repatriation along with the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), arranging for the returning Filipinos' domestic flights and land travel to their provinces. “Out of the more than 200 OFWs assisted by the DMW, around 141 were brought to quarantine facilities due to incomplete vaccination records while seven of them require medical assistance due to various health conditions,” Ople said in a statement.
Ople said among the repatriated OFWs were two cancer patients and three pregnant women, as well as other workers with medical ailments. “I have given instructions to the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) to assess the needs of the repatriated workers and extend the necessary assistance for them to begin a new and better chapter in life,” she said. “We have taken note of our workers from Kuwait with health concerns so that the necessary assistance can be provided by relevant agencies including the Department of Health,” she added. Ople said among those repatriated were OFWs complaining of “physical exhaustion, lack of proper food and rest, long hours of work, and physical as well as verbal abuse.” She added that some were also caught overstaying or working with expired visas.
Government agencies including the Bureau of Quarantine, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the NRCO were present at the airport to assist the repatriated OFWs.
Source: gmanetwork.com