DFA repatriates 271 overseas Filipinos from Vietnam

MANILA, Philippines — Some 271 overseas Filipinos from Vietnam returned to the country over the weekend as part of repatriation efforts related to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs said a chartered Cebu Pacific flight landed in Manila on August 15.

In it were 163 passengers from Ho Chi Minh City and 108 OFWs from Hanoi. 

"Most of the repatriates were distressed due to economic difficulties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic," the agency said, "while some of them were stranded in Vietnam due to flight cancellations."

DFA added the government extended a $200, or an estimated P10,121 cash assistance to the repatriates. They were also given free RT-PCR tests.

Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Workers Sarah Arriola on Twitter noted this was the second repatriation the DFA undertook in Vietnam this year. 

This brings the number of OFW repatriates from the said country to 414.

The Philippine embassy in Vietnam thanked the government in Hanoi for facilitating the exit visas of the repatriates, as well as for the quick approval of the flight. 

It said Vietnam also allowed necessary conditions for the OFWs to move through the regions there amid strict physical distancing protocols.