By Marita Moaje | Philippine News Agency
A total of 45 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), together with two children, arrived from Lebanon on Thursday.
This brought to 525 the number of Filipinos and 30 dependents repatriated by the Philippine government from the battle-scarred Middle East country since 2023.
“Since we started, mula no’ng ipinag-utos ng ating Pangulo, since Day 1 na pumutok ang hidwaan at sigalot between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces in October 2023, hindi ho tumigil ang ating pag-o-offer ng pre-repatriation services and post-arrival assistance,” Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Sec. Hans Leo Cacdac said as he welcomed the OFWs at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
Cacdac was joined by Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega, and Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao.
With the intensified fighting in Lebanon, Cacdac assured that the Philippine government, through a government approach, would continue to assist and repatriate Filipinos in Lebanon.
He said about 364 OFWs are expected to arrive in the country from the Beirut International Airport in the coming days and about 200 are still obtaining clearance from the Lebanese immigration authorities.
Cacdac also assured the repatriated Filipinos of financial assistance.
Each returning OFW received P170,000 in cash assistance—P75,000 from the DMW, P75,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and P20,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The Department of Health, on the other hand, will provide them and their dependents with medical examination and psychological intervention first aid.
Social workers also interviewed the OFWs to determine their needs and help them cope with their present situation.