DFA: Nearly 80,000 overseas Filipinos have returned home
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced over the weekend it has facilitated the repatriation of 78,809 overseas Filipinos (OFS) since government began repatriation efforts in February. The number includes the 10,369 OFS who returned last week from various regions around the world.
About 47 percent or 37,166 of those who returned are sea-based OFS while 41,643 are land-based OFS, with the most recent repatriates arriving from France, the Netherlands, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States of America and Vietnam.
The DFA said it continues to facilitate more flights from the Middle East, which is home to more than 2 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWS).
Committed
THIS week, the DFA brought home 6,681 fellow Filipinos from the region by facilitating nine flights from the UAE, seven flights from Saudi Arabia, three flights from Qatar, two from Bahrain, and one from Kuwait.
The DFA added it has also assisted in the return of 1,628 stranded Filipinos from the Asia-pacific region, particularly from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Maldives, Myanmar, South Korea and Sri Lanka.
The DFA said it also facilitated the repatriation of 1,204 seabased workers who arrived from Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey.
The DFA added it also mounted five chartered flights last week, using its Assistance-to-nationals fund, which brought home 1,323 overseas Filipinos from Japan, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The DFA said it, together with the Philippine embassies, consulates and attached agencies around the world, remains fully committed to bringing home Filipino nationals abroad as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise.
Rejoining
ON the other hand, Filipino mariners are starting to fly out of the country to rejoin cruise ships in Europe that are posed to resume cruising.
Manning agencies have reported that several hundred Filipino seafarers will be leaving this week to rejoin their ship after their companies have scheduled short trips in and around Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The agencies have started mobilizing cruise ships crews to report to the offices for medical examinations and processing of their various documents, including the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), according to recruitment consultant Manny Geslani.
Genting Dream, an Asian cruise ship operator, will start cruises in and around Taiwan in late July, while AIDA Cruises, Carnival Corp.’s German brand, will offer cruises in August.
The ships are scheduled to sail from German ports and won’t be at full occupancy, according to a statement.
Another Carnival Corp. cruise line, Costa Cruises, will start with two ships starting on August 15 with port calls in Italy and some Mediterranean cities, Geslani said.
Hapag-lloyd Cruises is planning to set sail again starting end of July, with extensive hygiene and preventive measures in place, he added. The company said it expects to send two ships at 60 percent capacity. Sailing from Hamburg, the Europa 2 and Hanseatic Inspiration will offer shorter routes, the recruitment consultant said.
Eight cruises are currently on sail and will comply with the line’s new 10-point health plan.
Relief
ALL these schedule cruises is a relief for Filipino seafarers, part of the first batch of 50,000 OFS who have been repatriated to the country.
Geslani said some of the mariners have been notified to report to their manning agencies, saying “many of them have expressed elations over the turn of events are more than willing to start working once more.”
Filipino seafarers are preferred by major cruise lines due to their hardworking nature and dedication, comprising one-third of the ship’s complement, from 500 to 800 Filipinos depending on the size of the ships, according to Geslani.
The Guilford, Connecticut, Usheadquartered American Cruise Lines is on voluntary suspension but expected to sail by September 15, like its counterpart in Europe, he added.