80 OFWs due today from Kuwait, Jordan

MANILA, Philippines - Eighty distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are due to arrive today at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Kuwait and Jordan.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Carmelita Dimzon said the government paid for the repatriation of the OFWs after immigration authorities there allowed them to fly home.

Dimzon said 30 workers are arriving from Kuwait at 8:30 p.m. while 50 are returning from Jordan in three batches. Eleven workers are scheduled to arrive at 10:25 a.m., another 13 at 10:30 p.m. and the rest at 10:35 p.m.

Dimzon said that the repatriated workers were housed at Philippine welfare resource centers during negotiations with their foreign employers to give the workers exit clearances.

Under  Jordan and Kuwait immigration laws, migrant workers can leave only if they have obtained clearance from their employers.

“Negotiations involving runaway workers often take several months but once the workers are cleared, OWWA books the OFWs with airlines immediately,” Dimzon explained.

Upon arrival at the NAIA, Dimzon said, the OFWs will be assisted by OWWA and will be offered temporary stay at the OWWA halfway house.

OWWA will also provide inland transport fares to the OFWs for their journey back to their provinces.

Dimzon said 127 distressed workers from Kuwait have also been booked but their departures are pending completion of immigration pre-departure procedures. – Mayen Jaymalin