More than two thousand Filipinos who returned from Dubai make up the single largest group among the 6,706 nationals repatriated from the Middle East as of Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers reported.
DMW data showed Dubai accounting for 2,048 returnees, ahead of Kuwait with 1,153 and Abu Dhabi with 1,023. Qatar contributed 700, Bahrain 689, Riyadh 684, Al Khobar 133, Israel 90, Lebanon 77, Jeddah 74 and Oman 35.
Of the total, 5,023 are overseas Filipino workers, 1,343 are dependents, and the remaining 340 are tourists and other Filipinos abroad.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said additional flights were still incoming. “That includes today’s arrivals. We have around three arrivals today from Bahrain, Dubai and Qatar and tomorrow we will have arrivals from Qatar, Lebanon, Israel and Abu Dhabi,” he said at a briefing in Pasig City. “So we will go up to around nearly 6,900 by tomorrow.”
The government has directly financed the return of 4,308 individuals, or 64 percent of the total, through the DMW, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration covered the remaining 2,398. Regional tensions triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent Iranian retaliation have driven the repatriation surge, which has already been marked by the deaths of two Filipinos in Israel.
Alongside flight assistance, the DMW has logged 30,587 services delivered through its migrant workers offices. These include 17,287 food assistance transactions, 4,502 financial aid disbursements, 4,369 transportation arrangements, 2,305 medical services and 2,124 shelter placements.
OFWs whose income, working hours or employment have been disrupted may apply for $200, equivalent to roughly P11,990, in financial assistance. Undersecretary Jainal Rasul Jr. said the application process has been streamlined under guidelines issued March 30 and subsequently amended, and that self-declarations and certifications from Filipino community organizations will be accepted alongside standard documentation.
The department has also begun piloting a post-repatriation orientation program under its Kalinga framework. Assistant Secretary Francis De Guzman said the program extends medical and psychosocial support beyond airport arrival through follow-up monitoring, and connects returning workers with skills training, scholarships and job-matching services coordinated with the Department of Labor and Employment, local public employment offices and other partners.
At sea, the DMW is tracking 4,844 Filipino seafarers aboard 462 vessels in the Persian Gulf, of whom 495 have returned to Manila, and 819 seafarers on 71 vessels in the Gulf of Oman, with 20 already repatriated.
