Bodies of 49 OFWs arrive home from Saudi Arabia

Forty-nine of the 274 deceased overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia finally arrived home Friday.

They arrived aboard a Philippine Airlines (PAL) cargo plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 10:30 a.m., the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Thirty-two of them were from Dammam, while 17 came from Riyadh. Twenty died of COVID-19, while the rest died from other unspecified causes.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III apologized for the delayed homecoming which was originally set for July 4, citing "lockdowns" among other "strenuous processes" that they had to hurdle to make it all possible.

"The added anxiety to the families caused by the suspended homeward journey is certainly undeserved," he said. "But despite the enormous hurdles, we have brought back the first 49 remains of our deceased OFWs from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

The Labor chief assured the bereaved families the government will continue in its efforts to bring home the rest of the dead “if need be, not only from the Middle East but also from all over the world.”

According to the Labor chief, the repatriation of human remains of such magnitude is a first for the government.

Such an endeavor, he said, would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of various agencies including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department ofHealth (DOH) and the Bureau of Quarantine, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

"As we grieve with the families left behind by all our OFW heroes, including those already buried overseas and those flown home ahead, we give our highest respects and gratitude for their heroic sacrifices for the country," Bello said.

"Our nation is most honored," he added.

The DOLE said they are set to bring back more deceased OFWs from Jeddah and other parts of the region Tuesday, July 14.