7,500 Filipinos granted amnesty in 3 months
dubai — About 7,500 overstaying Filipinos have availed of the UAE amnesty programme since it started on August 1. Out of the estimated total number, close to 3,000 decided to return to the Philippines while the rest opted to stay in the country to look for work or accept standing job offers, Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes said on Wednesday.
The Philippine government has also released around Dh7.8 million to pay for the exit fees (Dh221 each), lifting of absconding cases (Dh521), and one-way airfare (Dh1,500) of the returning Filipinos, who were also given $100 (Dh365) each (excluding the minors) as “humble welfare assistance”. The money was sourced from the Philippine Assistance to Nationals fund pegged at Dh70 million for overseas Filipinos worldwide.
According to Cortes, the next batch of 200 Filipino amnestyseekers, who will be repatriated by the Philippine Consulate, will be leaving Dubai on November 11 and the latest group of 90 flew home from Abu Dhabi on November 4.
Originally set to run for only three months, the amnesty programme was extended for another month until December 1 to give
undocumented residents the chance to either go back to their home countries without penalties, or legalise their stay.
Cortes has repeatedly urged his kababayans (compatriots) to avail of the amnesty before it finally ends. He said: “They (overstaying Filipinos) now have less than three weeks left to rectify their status or choose to go home without paying fines.
“I urge them to come to the consulate in Dubai (or the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi) so we can
give them proper advice on what documents to bring to avail of the amnesty,” he added.
Cortes also reiterated that overstaying residents with pending police or civil cases due to loan defaults or dud cheques will have to clear their lawsuits first before they can apply for the amnesty.
“The Philippine government will not pay for their loans but we can always help them in processing their documents. Our constant advice for them is to talk to the bank and ask for payment restructuring,” he said.
“Better to get out of the trap with the amnesty, reunite with your families and start a new life back home,” Cortes said, adding “that the UAE government has already warned of a crackdown on illegal residents when the programme ends”.
At the onset of the amnesty scheme, Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III called on beleaguered Filipinos to rectify their status in the UAE or seek voluntary repatriation. “Our government is ready to help you if you decide to come back home,” he said.
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate in Dubai have announced that they will be closed on November 18, in observance of Prophet Muhammed’s (PBUH) birthday.
Better to get out of the trap with the amnesty, reunite with your families, and start a new life back home.” Paul Raymund Cortes, Consul-General of the Philippines