Twenty-six overseas Filipino workers who chose to return home voluntarily from Qatar landed at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City just after noon on a Qatar Airways flight, bringing with them nine OFW family units who made the journey alongside them.
Support was already in place at the airport upon their arrival. The DMW led the on-ground reception, joined by the DSWD, the MIAA Medical Team, the Bureau of Quarantine, and the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation. TESDA distributed training vouchers to the returnees, while OWWA arranged hotel accommodations and transportation to their respective home provinces.
Preparations for their return had begun before they even left Doha. The Migrant Workers Office, OWWA, and the Philippine Embassy in Qatar coordinated their pre-departure processing under the government’s One-Country Team Approach.
The second batch brings the total number of government-repatriated OFWs from Qatar to 46, with 19 dependents also having returned. A separate group of 17 others made their own way home, either purchasing their own tickets or receiving assistance from their employers.
The Qatar repatriations are running alongside broader government efforts across the Gulf region. Earlier flights have brought home hundreds of OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE, with the DMW reporting that repatriation demand remains fluid as the Middle East conflict continues.
