Amid a government-led effort to bring home Filipinos displaced by the conflict engulfing parts of the Middle East, the Philippine Business Council Dubai has stepped in with a practical contribution — donating wheelchairs to the Department of Migrant Workers’ repatriation assistance program.
The turnover was conducted through the Migrant Workers Office in Dubai, with the equipment formally received by representatives under Labor Attaché Jon Rio Bautista. The council described the gesture as a show of solidarity with returning OFWs at a time when the need for community support is acute.
The donation comes as the Philippine government continues to manage one of its most complex overseas evacuation operations in recent years. Over 1,300 OFWs and their dependents have already been returned to the Philippines since March 5, with the DMW reporting a combined 1,022 workers and 293 family members brought home under the Bagong Pilipinas Repatriation Program through mid-March.
The UAE has been a focal point of the repatriation effort. On March 14, a Boeing 747-400 chartered by the government landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 carrying 442 Filipinos from the Emirates — the largest single batch to arrive from that country since evacuations began. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac was aboard the flight.
Government repatriation has drawn on multiple routes. Small groups have crossed land borders from Dubai into Oman before catching commercial flights to Manila, while others from Israel were moved through Egypt. The DMW has also coordinated commercial bookings on Emirates Airlines for OFWs and their dependents still in Dubai.
With close to a million Filipinos based across the UAE — roughly 400,000 in Dubai alone — the scale of the potential demand remains a concern for officials. The OWWA’s Emergency Repatriation Fund had an utilization rate of around 18 percent as of mid-March, leaving approximately P1.4 billion available, though DMW officials have warned that a significant surge in departure requests could require supplemental government funding.
Workers returning to the Philippines are met at NAIA by personnel from OWWA, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Health, TESDA, and the Bureau of Immigration. Post-arrival assistance includes psychosocial counseling, medical checks, and financial support. The DTI has separately launched an OFW Negosyo Fund offering loans of up to P20 million to help displaced workers transition into small business ownership upon reintegration.
The Philippine Business Council Dubai acknowledged that its wheelchair donation is modest relative to the scale of the crisis, but framed it as consistent with a broader commitment to remain engaged with the Filipino community during periods of hardship.
