The Department of Migrant Workers announced that a young Filipina, left behind shortly after birth in the United Arab Emirates, has been brought back to Philippine soil following months of coordination between Manila and Emirati officials. The two-year-old landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on June 9, 2026, aboard a commercial flight, closing out a chapter that had unfolded almost entirely outside her home country.
For most of the time she has been alive, the girl lived at the Family Village in Al Warqa, a Dubai facility that took her in when she was just four months old. Staff there looked after her physical needs and development as officials on both sides worked through the requirements for her return.
Traveling with the child on the journey home was Cherrylene G. Girado, Social Welfare Attaché at the Migrant Workers Office in Dubai, who accompanied her through the flight and the handover to Philippine authorities.
The repatriation was carried out under instructions from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to safeguard Filipinos abroad. The DMW said its personnel worked in tandem with counterparts in the Philippines and the UAE to secure the girl’s transfer and to ensure she was turned over to the proper government agencies once she reached Manila.
According to the agency, the case reflects a standing pledge that vulnerable Filipinos overseas will not be overlooked in the government’s protection efforts.
