At least 26 distressed overseas Filipino workers arrived in Manila Thursday afternoon following their repatriation from Doha in Qatar. According to a release posted on the Website of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the OFWs arrived 3:35 P.M. aboard Qatar Airways Flight 646. The DFA said many of the workers were placed under the custody of the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC), the temporary shelter of distressed OFWs in Qatar, and who were endorsed to the Qatari Deportation Center for repatriation. During his visit to Doha in February, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Marianito Roque initiated the mass repatriation of the 26 workers and pledged to provide plane tickets for their return back to Manila, the release further stated. The Philippine Embassy in Doha, in coordination with the Office of the Labor Attaché and Workers Welfare Representatives (POLO-OWWA) in Doha, made representations with the Deportation Center authorities to facilitate the repatriation of the 26 OFWs. The 26 from Doha were sent shortly after 74 distressed Filipinos, arrived home after midnight Tuesday. They were the latest batch of Filipinos repatriated from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia since January, said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Carmelita Dimzon Wednesday.
