More than 1,600 Filipinos in the Middle East returned during the war
By Adrian H. Halili, A reporter
The Department of Immigration said it is supporting more than 1,600 Filipinos from the Middle East as the government tries to bring Filipinos home as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
A total of 341 Filipinos from Saudi Arabia arrived safely in the country on Sunday, including 328 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and 13 dependents, Immigration Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said in a live news conference on Sunday.
The repatriated Filipinos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday at 7:07 a.m. on a Philippine Airlines flight.
This is more than the 1,315 overseas Filipinos that the agency helped repatriate, as of March 14, according to a statement on Sunday. This includes 1,022 OFWs and 293 dependents.
Mr. Cacdac was quoted as saying that the government prioritizes OFWs in high-risk areas, those who are sick, or have other humanitarian concerns as preparations are made to return to the Philippines safely.
The agency said it ensures continued cooperation with other agencies to assist affected migrant workers with flight assistance, financial assistance, repatriation, and repatriation services.
Repatriation efforts are funded under the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) P1.2-billion Emergency Repatriation Fund.
OWWA director Patricia Yvonne M. Caunan said most of the repatriated Filipinos came from Al Khobar and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while others used the country’s border crossing from Bahrain.
“These were the most oppressed OFWs from Bahay Kalinga of the government, they were supported by the government even before the conflict started in the Middle East,” he said in Filipino.
Ms. Caunan added that more chartered flights are being planned by the government to repatriate more Filipinos from the Middle East.
He said the first group of Filipinos from Kuwait will arrive home in the next few days.
“Fifty Filipinos, the first group from Kuwait, are now in Riyadh and are expected to return to the country in the coming days,” he said in the same forum.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East has put millions of migrant workers in the region, including Filipinos, in dire straits, with canceled flights, missile strikes, and attacks on oil fields disrupting livelihoods and travel.
According to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, there are approximately 2.4 million Filipinos in the Middle East.
A WORKING RESPONSE FOR ASEAN
Analysts say that the Philippines as the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should push for the implementation of humanitarian response mechanisms of the regional bloc to help and evacuate OFWs affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Hansley A. Juliano, a political science teacher at Ateneo de Manila University, said the regional bloc should use its ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Agency (AHA) and its Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ERAT) to evacuate workers from Middle Eastern countries.
ERATE is a rapid deployment unit under the AHA Center that seeks to support affected nations through assessment and coordination of responses during disasters.
“Although these structures are often sent to natural disasters, perhaps it is more prudent to start considering whether AHA and ERATE have the capacity to provide assistance and evacuate people in ASEAN,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
Mr. Juliano added that this initiative will further enhance ASEAN cooperation and regional independence.
The Philippines may also propose an emergency joint evacuation among ASEAN countries, for workers affected by the conflict in the Middle East, Josue Raphael J. Cortez, professor of ASEAN Studies at De La Salle-College of St.
“Since the Philippines is the chairman of ASEAN this year, its embassies in the Middle East may lead efforts to coordinate the asylum of migrant workers to ensure that it is done in cooperation,” he said in a Messenger interview.
Mr. Cortez added that the regional bloc should also formalize a regional framework on how to improve cooperation in protecting migrant workers.
“What remains now is to create a regional road aimed at harmonizing standards regarding the repatriation of migrants who choose to be repatriated,” he said, noting that an intra-ASEAN option for travel and migration could be studied.
Last week, the Philippines called for a special meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss the escalating issue of conflicts in the Middle East, where ministers faced the bloc’s joint commitment to ensure the safety and well-being of ASEAN people in affected countries.
The meeting also focused on the possible creation of “beneficial cooperation with foreign organizations” to ensure the security of the people of ASEAN.
