MANILA — Another batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday, April 10.
One hundred nine OFWs from Kuwait came home on board Qatar Airways flight QR 934.
Charmaine Aviquivil, DFA Office of Public Diplomacy executive director, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday that the DFA targets to repatriate 10,000 OFWs until April 22, which, according to her, is the deadline for the extension of the amnesty.
The DFA has already repatriated more than 4,000 OFWs from Kuwait, including those who arrived today, said Aviquivil.
Every repatriated OFW receives financial assistance from the Philippine government.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) assists the OFWs and provides them with temporary shelter. The government also shoulders their transportation expenses to get back to their respective provinces.
The Philippine government has imposed a deployment ban to Kuwait and has also been working to help the OFWs there to come back home.
President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to work on the OFWs’ repatriation due to reports of maltreatment and abuse.
One domestic helper in Kuwait, Joanna Demafelis, was killed and was found inside a freezer. Just recently, her employers, the primary suspects, were sentenced to death by Kuwaiti authorities.
The President had also requested local carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) to help in the repatriation efforts.
Both carriers have heeded the President’s request by mounting special flights and providing free flights to the distressed OFWs. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
