Filipino workers still seeking to leave the Middle East can continue to count on state support, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Monday, even as the flow of returnees has thinned considerably from its peak earlier this year.
DMW Undersecretary Felicitas Bay put the running total at 10,580 overseas Filipino workers, other overseas Filipinos and their dependents brought home from the region since the outbreak of hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran. A group of 50 returnees from Kuwait, who landed in the country this week, made up the most recent arrivals.
“We still have ongoing repatriation, but it’s unlike the periods of April and May. The number is declining, but we still continue with our repatriation efforts,” Bay said.
The department is keeping watch over conditions across the region, she said, working through its Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council states to field requests for repatriation and to address other welfare matters raised by Filipino workers. Those offices, she added, stay in regular contact with Filipinos on the ground so that anyone in need can quickly tap available assistance.
Bay directed workers to treat announcements from Philippine government posts abroad as their only reliable source of guidance, warning against unverified information.
For those in areas touched by conflict, the undersecretary said personal safety should come first, urging workers to remain in secure locations and to observe the directives and advisories issued by their host governments.
