(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs has repatriated over 300 Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates recently.
The DFA said the 342 FIlipinos were brought home via a Philippine Airlines flight, PR 8659, on Aug. 5.
The flight arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, at 11:55 AM (Manila time).
According to the DFA, the bulk of the passengers were those who availed of the United Arab Emirates government’s amnesty for overstaying residence and tourist visa holders which ended on August 10.
Under the amnesty, those whose residence or tourist visas expired before March 1, including those with immigration violations of absconding, will be allowed to leave the UAE, with all related fines waived and without being handed an entry ban.
Also included in the flight were those considered as priority for repatriation: pregnant women, those with minor children, the elderly, those with medical condition/s, and the female wards of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai (POLO-Dubai).
“Nearly all of them have been in some form of distress due to the sudden economic downturn in the country brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the DFA said.
To date, the Philippine Consulate has received over 5,000 requests for repatriation assistance from Overseas Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Over a thousand have been able to return to the Philippines through the DFA’s repatriation assistance program in response to the pandemic, the DFA said.