6 August 2020, Dubai, UAE – The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, repatriated a total of 342 Overseas Filipinos (OFs) on 5 August 2020 via Philippine Airlines flight PR 8659. The DFA chartered flight departed Dubai at around 10:40 PM and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino Airport the following day, 6 August, at around 11:55 AM (Manila time).

The bulk of the passengers on the said flight were those who availed of the UAE government’s amnesty for overstaying residence and tourist visa holders which will end on 10 August 2020. Under the amnesty, those whose residence or tourist visas which expired before 1 March, including those with immigration violation of absconding will be permitted to leave the UAE, with all related fines waived and without being handed an entry ban.

Also among this batch of repatriated OFs are those considered as priority for repatriation, namely:  pregnant women, those with minor children, the elderly, those with medical condition/s, and the female wards of POLO-Dubai. Nearly all of them have been in some form of distress due to the sudden economic downturn in the country brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of those repatriated was an infirm 65-year old OF who had worked as a household service worker for many years in Dubai. A small group of fellow passengers volunteered to assist the said senior citizen who was travelling alone and had to use a wheelchair as she had difficulty walking.

The passengers expressed their gratitude to the Duterte Administration for extending much needed assistance to OFs in Dubai and the rest of the UAE like themselves whose lives have been adversely affected by the ongoing pandemic.

To date, Dubai PCG has received over 5,000 requests for repatriation assistance from thousands of OFs based in Dubai and the Northern Emirates while over a thousand have been able to return to the Philippines through the DFA’s repatriation assistance program in response to the pandemic.

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