• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Amid the escalating tension in the Middle East, some Negrense overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are seeking repatriation from their host countries, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said on Wednesday, March 4.
Of the seven Negrense OFWs who requested for assistance through the Capitol Help Desk, three of them – two in Kuwait and one in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – signified their intention to be repatriated.
The three OFWs are residents of Himamaylan City and Pulupandan.
“The request was already relayed to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration for their repatriation,” Diaz said.
He added that the four others just provided pre-emptive information on their locations as well as contact numbers.
Diaz said they will extend financial assistance to an OFW from Isabela, whose flight to KSA was cancelled while in Hong Kong, upon his return to Negros Occidental.
He thanked Isabela Mayor Miguel Angelo Yulo for taking charge of the plane ticket of the returning OFW.
Based on the data provided by the provincial government, there are 16,623 Negrense OFWs working in the Middle East.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that about 1,416 OFWs in various countries in the Middle East have sought repatriation.
The Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy are also preparing assets in case the government orders the repatriation of OFWs amid the Middle East conflict.
“This will be done in coordination actually with (the) DFA, the DMW (Department of Migrant Workers) and the DND (Department of National Defense),” PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Christina Basco said in a press briefing Tuesday. | GB
