Two chartered flights are being readied by the Philippine government to bring home overseas Filipino workers who have opted to return amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, officials disclosed during a House of Representatives hearing this week.
The Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, joined by the Department of Foreign Affairs, appeared before the Committee on Foreign Relations to present the government’s contingency framework covering OFWs across the affected region. Officials outlined a four-stage protocol spanning pre-departure and transit assistance, on-site support, repatriation, and reintegration.
Rapid Response Teams have been positioned at strategic points including the Egypt-Israel border, Bahrain, and Oman to provide immediate assistance to Filipinos who may need it. The deployment is part of the government’s broader effort to keep assistance accessible even as conditions on the ground remain fluid.
Repatriation processing continues for OFWs who have filed requests to return home. In areas where airspace closures have disrupted normal travel, authorities are arranging land border crossings into neighboring countries, where flights back to the Philippines can then be organized.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan led the agency’s presentation at the hearing, reaffirming that reintegration support remains part of the government’s commitment to workers beyond the point of repatriation.
