MANILA – A total of 274 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait were scheduled to be back in the Philippines on Thursday.
One hundred seventy-four arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) via Qatar Airways flight QR 934 at 6:15 a.m., while 100 more were set to arrive at 10:40 p.m. via flight QR 928.
The Philippine government has been working on the repatriation of OFWs in Kuwait since February, when a deployment ban to Kuwait was also implemented.
President Rodrigo Duterte had instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to work on the repatriation, due to reports of maltreatment and abuse the OFWs there were experiencing.
Since then, more than 4,000 OFWs were already repatriated, according to DFA. The agency added that it targets to repatriate 10,000 OFWs in Kuwait until April 22, the deadline for the extension of amnesty.
Every repatriated OFW receives financial assistance from the government. They are also provided with temporary shelter upon their arrival in Manila, and the government also shoulders their transportation expenses so they could go back to their respective provinces.
Meanwhile, 81 distressed OFWs in Abu Dhabi were also repatriated recently. They were victims of illegal recruitment, poor working conditions, and maltreatment.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac earlier advised OFWs to seek help from the government if they experience abuse or maltreatment abroad. “It is your right to seek help,” he emphasized.
Cacdac also encouraged the OFWs to use social media to report their situation. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
