After years of hardship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a group of 43 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)—including eight children—returned to the Philippines on July 19 through the government’s repatriation program.
The group consisted of 10 men from Bahay Kalinga 3 (Male Shelter) and 25 women with eight children from Bahay Kalinga 2 (Mother and Child Shelter). Four of the returnees had medical conditions and were also provided with assistance.
Carrying new luggage provided by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and financial aid from the Migrant Workers Office in Riyadh, the OFWs were all smiles as they boarded their flight back home, where they were set to reunite with their families.
Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretaries Dominique Rubia-Tutay and Jainal T. Rasul, Assistant Secretary Venecio Legazpi, and Labor Attachés Dominador Salanga and Solaiman Mutia escorted the group as they departed.
According to the DMW, a “whole-of-government team” will be ready to receive the returnees in the Philippines, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure their smooth reintegration and help them begin a new chapter in their home communities.
