Middle East deployment ban strands 40,000 OFWs

National

OVER 40,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been left stranded in Manila following a deployment ban to several Middle Eastern countries, disrupting employment and delaying their return to work.

The ban covers major destinations for Filipino workers, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Israel, and Lebanon, a report by Philstar said.

Many of the affected OFWs are currently staying in accommodation centers run by recruitment agencies, particularly those bound for household service work.

Others have been sent back to their home provinces, while some are re-hires or returning workers who are unable to fulfill their contracts due to the limited availability of flights to the region.

Despite the disruption, government agencies continue repatriation and assistance efforts. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) have so far repatriated over 4,000 OFWs and their dependents, along with stranded Filipino tourists from Dubai and Jordan.

Repatriation operations from Qatar also continue, with 88 Filipinos brought home over the weekend. Of the total, 67 arrived on Saturday, composed of 54 OFWs and 13 family members, followed by 21 more arrivals on Sunday, including 20 OFWs and one family member. This brings the total number of repatriated Filipinos from Qatar to 585.

Authorities said returning Filipinos were provided with financial assistance prior to departure and received immediate support upon arrival, including food, medical services, transportation to their home provinces, and temporary accommodation through coordinated efforts among the DMW, OWWA, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine embassy.(Zsarrhied Samantha A. Tanjay, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)