(CNN Philippines) — As announced earlier by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), 150 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from war-torn Yemen arrived in Manila on Saturday (April 11) in two batches.
The first batch of 50 OFWs arrived past 10 a.m. and the second batch of 100 past 3 p.m.
In an interview aired over state-run Radyo ng Bayan later in the day, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that the workers were welcomed at the airport by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) repatriation team.
Baldoz said that the government mostly shouldered the cost of getting the workers back home.
She added that those who want to seek other employment would receive “employment facilitation assistance” from the government.
On Wednesday (April 8), the DFA urged Filipinos remaining in Yemen to immediately register with the crisis management team for mandatory evacuation.
Alert Level 4 or mandatory repatriation had been in effect in the strife-torn country since last February.
Meanwhile, the DFA noted that so far the government has successfully evacuated 464 Filipinos and 9 foreigners from Yemen in 4 batches by land through the Yemeni-Saudi border since April 5.
The last batch was on April 9 and included 79 Filipinos and 6 foreigners (4 Singaporeans, 1 Yemeni spouse and 1 Egyptian spouse).
They started their trip from Sana’a in the morning and arrived at Saudi Arabia in the evening of the same day.
The group was assisted at the border by a team from the Philippine Consulate General, led by Acting Consul General Leo Tito Ausan Jr.
The DFA added that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh was working to repatriate all Filipinos who have been evacuated as soon as possible.
“I wish to thank the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for allowing the entry of evacuees from Yemen through the Tuwal border, and granting them transit visas while the Embassy arranges their repatriation to the Philippines,” Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Yemen Ezzedin Tago said. “I again strongly urge all Filipinos who remain in Yemen to immediately contact the Embassy team to arrange for their evacuation from Yemen immediately.”
