Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) — Over 4,600 Filipinos in Qatar are still awaiting repatriation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said Monday.
Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan Timbayan said they are trying to assist overseas Filipino workers who want to go home, as most of them have lost their jobs due to the crisis.
“So far po, meron kaming nasa 4,600 na nag-register sa amin sa embahada requesting for repatriation,” Timbayan said during the Laging Handa briefing.
[Translation: So far, we have 4,600 Filipinos registered with the embassy who are requesting for repatriation.]
“Ang ginagawa po ngayon ng embahada ay nakalinya, aside from chartered repatriation sa July 12 at saka July 22, meron pa kaming repatriation sched na ginagawa,” he added.
[Translation: What we are doing now is we are lining them up, aside from chartered repatriation for July 12 and July 22, we are still coming up with a repatriation schedule.]
Timbayan said they are already coordinating with Qatar Airways and Philippine Airlines for the return of OFWs back home.
A total of 912 Filipinos have been repatriated from Doha in the past months, he said.
There are 15 confirmed infections among Filipinos in Qatar to date, Timbayan noted. Meanwhile, two COVID-related fatalities among the Filipino community have yet to be repatriated.
Timbayan added: “We see to it that the next of kin is well-informed, and we also report for the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the matter.”
