289 Filipinos deported from Kuwait

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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 3: Around 289 overseas Filipino workers have been deported back to the Philippines from Kuwait for violating residency rules and absconding cases. The repatriated OFWs arrived past 8.15 p.m. via Philippine Airlines (PAL) chartered flight PR 8764, arranged by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, and were welcomed by Deputy Administrator Arnell Ignacio of the DMW-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Out of the more than 200 deported Filipinos assisted by the DMW, around 141 were brought to quarantine facilities due to incomplete vaccination records while 7 of them require medical assistance due to various health conditions

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Office Eduardo de Vega fetched and accompanied the repatriates during their flight back to the country, reports Department of Migrant Workers (www.dmw.gov.ph).

The DMW (Department of Migrant Workers) said Kuwaiti authorities apprehended the OFWs over the past months as part of an ongoing crackdown targeting overstaying migrant workers, including those who ran away from their employers.

Most of the deportees are workers who have run away from their sponsors and had absconding cases for a long time as they were arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities in past months. From these 245 were in the deportation center, deported workers were 2 cancer patients and 3 pregnant women as well as several other OFWs with medical ailments.

The DMW-OWWA will assist the deported OFWs through the post-repatriation process, including psycho-social counseling, stress debriefing, and medical referrals if needed. They are currently staying in temporary shelters while transportation to their respective provinces is being arranged.

Among those repatriated were OFWs complaining of physical exhaustion, lack of proper food and rest, long hours of work, and physical as well as verbal abuse. Some were caught overstaying or working with expired visas

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