Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22) — Some 5,300 Filipinos in Sabah sought government assistance for their repatriation because of the rising COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday.
Lorenzana said majority of these Filipinos live in the Bangsamoro Region, with about 70 to 80 percent of them from Tawi-Tawi province.
“They are not being evicted by our neighbors, but they are volunteering to come home,” the defense chief said in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Davao City.
Lorenzana also reported that 1,570 Filipinos have returned home from Sabah, while about 400 are expected to arrive on Wednesday.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that there are over 80,000 Filipino refugees in Sabah as of 2016. It said only around 60 percent have proper documentation.
Malaysia now has a total of 10,276 confirmed COVID-19 cases, along with 130 deaths and 9,395 recoveries. A total of 57 new infections were added to its tally on Monday.
Meanwhile, Lorenzana said a total of 200,223 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been repatriated as of Sunday.
Around 80,000 OFWs are still awaiting repatriation based on the report of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Also, 261 remains of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia were brought home. Of this number, 164 died due to COVID-19 and the remaining 97 died of other causes.
