Govt vows to bring home Pinoys in UAE

THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday vowed to repatriate all Filipinos who wish to return home amid the clamor for evacuation of Filipinos stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez said the government “is working 24/7 to bring everyone home despite the challenges being faced.”

“This is evident as seen by our continuing efforts that have resulted in over 27,000 Filipinos arriving through Metro Manila since February 2020,” Meñez said.

Unfortunately, there were several considerations that hampered the immediate return of all who have decided to come home, he said.

“First are travel restrictions imposed by other nations where inbound and outbound flights are prohibited. The Emirates website lists only eight countries where they currently operate, not including the Philippines,” he explained.

He also cited the “absorptive capacity” of Metro Manila, which according to him, had reached its limit.

“Reports place over 20,000 repatriates still waiting to return home due to the quarantine and testing requirements, and this prompted the authorities to suspend flight arrivals for a week, then limiting numbers thereafter so as not to exceed national resources that would place everyone in danger,” the official said.

“I believe the government is trying to build capacity so that other entry points and local government units might allow more returnees to come in elsewhere,” Meñez said.

Also, he pointed out that the Philippines does not have embassies or consulates in all the places where Filipinos are found.

“This presents an added complication to repatriation efforts but we are also working to help our citizens in these places.”

“Even in places where we are present, Covid restrictions present a challenge in communication and coordination with the Filipino community and with authorities,” Meñez said.

“The UAE is an example where we have over 600,000 Filipinos served by two posts that have been repatriating distressed Filipinos even before Covid began. Each country presents unique conditions that we must assess and prioritize as well,” he added.

Meñez advised those who wanted to be repatriated to contact the Philippine consulate in Dubai to register their desire to come home as soon as possible.

“If there are no commercial flights available, and there are enough Filipinos enlisted, we try to arrange chartered flights,” he said.

“Our posts in the UAE are also working to get the flights of Etihad and Emirates back into the Philippines as many Filipinos have also paid tickets to return,” Meñez said.

Sen. Richard Gordon on Monday

urged concerned agencies to allow more inbound flights as he expressed concern for hundreds of Filipino workers in the UAE, most of whom are already unemployed and stranded there for months.

The Philippine Embassy in the UAE earlier wrote to the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) seeking assistance for the hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are unable to return to Manila because of inbound flight restrictions.

Gordon also wrote the IATF-EID to propose the opening of the airports in Clark, Subic and Mactan to accommodate more flights carrying OFWs.

“I’m aware that we have to take precautions. But I think it would not be a problem, if we allow more flights to come in and distribute them to other airports such as Clark, Subic, and Mactan,” Gordon said in a letter to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., IATF-EID’s chief implementer, and his deputy, Vivencio Dizon, who is also president and chief operating officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.