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MANILA, Philippines — More than 40,000 overseas Filipino workers are now stranded in Manila following the deployment ban to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Israel and Lebanon.
The OFWs are either in accommodation centers of agencies deploying household service workers, or have been sent back to their provinces, while others are re-hires or vacationing workers unable to fulfill their contracts due to the scarcity of flights to the Middle East.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) have so far repatriated over 4,000 OFWs and their dependents aside from sending home stranded Filipino tourists from Dubai and Jordan.
According to migration expert Emmanuel Geslani, deployment to the Middle East will seriously decline in the second and third quarter of 2026 as the oil refineries of Middle East countries undergo repair or rehabilitation, resulting in poor oil production.
Meanwhile, 88 Filipinos from Qatar were brought home in a two-day repatriation effort over the weekend.
On Saturday, 67 Filipinos returned to the country, composed of 54 OFWs and 13 family members. This was followed by the arrival of another 21 Filipinos from Qatar yesterday, consisting of 20 OFWs and one family member.
The DMW said the group received financial assistance before their departure. Upon arrival in the Philippines, the repatriates were given immediate assistance, including food, financial aid, medical services, transportation to their home provinces, and temporary accommodation, through coordination with OWWA, Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine embassy.
The weekend arrivals bring the total number of Filipinos repatriated from Qatar to 585.
— Christine Boton, Rudy Santos
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
