338 Filipinos to return to PHL

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said that 338 repatriated Filipinos from the Middle East are expected to arrive in the Philippines on Sunday.

In a statement, the agency said the returning Filipinos were flown home on the government’s sixth chartered flight from the conflict-hit region.

The latest batch of repatriated Filipinos included 203 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and 125 of their family members. The remaining 10 were Filipinos who have been stranded since the war began.

The agency earlier reported that the fifth chartered flight from the United Arab Emirates arrived in the Philippines last Friday, 7 p.m. The flight included 222 OFWs and their 78 dependents, as well as 49 stranded Filipinos.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said last week that the agency is targeting to repatriate about 1,200 more Filipinos from the Middle East.

A total of 2,910 Filipinos from the Middle East have returned to the Philippines, according to data from the DMW. — Adrian H. Halili