Sixty overseas Filipinos landed at Manila’s airports on September 3, 2026, arriving on three separate flights from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia after each group sought government help over labor and immigration troubles abroad.
The largest of the arrivals came from Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, where 23 workers had reported alleged violations of their employment contracts. Their case was resolved after Philippine authorities intervened. Before boarding Gulf Air Flight GF154, which touched down at NAIA Terminal 3, the workers had raised their grievances with the Migrant Workers Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Officials then reached out to the employer, conducting site visits and mediation sessions to settle the disputes. Both sides eventually agreed to terminate the contracts under Article 74 of the Saudi Labor Law, and the workers were sent home once exit visas and travel documents were secured.
A separate group of 26 nationals flew in from Kuwait aboard a Kuwait Airways flight to NAIA Terminal 1. That group included nine adults and 17 minors, whose situation stemmed from the expiration of the children’s visas. Government agencies gave particular attention to moving the minors quickly back to their families and communities.
Rounding out the day’s returns, 11 workers arrived from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saudia flight SV870, also landing at NAIA Terminal 1.
For every group, OWWA coordinated with the DMW and the Manila International Airport Authority Medical Team to meet the returnees’ immediate needs on arrival. The assistance covered airport reception, meals, financial aid, temporary lodging for those who needed it, and transportation and fare money for the trip back to their home provinces.
The agencies said support continues well past the terminal. Through OWWA’s Regional Welfare Offices, returning workers and their families can be linked to livelihood and reintegration aid, help finding employment, counseling, and other welfare services suited to their circumstances.
Officials framed the operations as consistent with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. calling for prompt, thorough, and compassionate service for every Filipino worker abroad and their families.
