THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW)-Migrant Workers’ Office, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs-Philippine Embassy in Beirut, has arranged for the safe repatriation of more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Lebanon.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said 131 OFWs with 9 dependents are expected to return home early this week, as part of the Philippine government’s efforts to repatriate OFWs affected by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Most of them were sheltered in Beirut under the auspices of the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave clear directives to help our Kababayans, our OFWs, affected by the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. We stand continually ready to assist and support OFWs who wish to go home for safety and security,” Cacdac said.
The OFWs are expected to arrive in the country in two batches, including 52 OFWs with one dependent arriving on February 10, and 79 OFWs with 8 dependents on February 11, 2025.
All of them will receive immediate financial and airport assistance and all the necessary support from the whole-of-government team as directed by the President, composed of the DFA, DMW-OWWA, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The DMW, through its National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), will also assist the OFWs for their upskilling and sustainable reintegration, including livelihood assistance or skills training enhancement for redeployment options.
The repatriation of the 131 OFWs and their dependents will bring the total to 1,569 OFWs and 68 dependents who have safely returned from Lebanon through Philippine government on-site, shelter, repatriation, and post-arrival assistance since the start of Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
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