Thousands of Filipinos return home but many choose to stay

About 6,000 Filipinos have been repatriated from the UAE over the past few months.

They chose to return to the Philippines after losing their jobs as a result of the coronavirus outbreak or because they wanted to be with their families during the Covid-19 crisis.

At least 1,000 more have registered interest to leave the Emirates, as restrictions on international flights gradually ease.

But Paul Cortes, consul general of the Philippines in Dubai, said most nationals were keen to remain in the UAE to find new jobs.

“Most Filipinos are hopeful about the economy,” he said.

“They are still optimistic, and have trust and confidence that the UAE will rebound.

“Generally, people would still like to stay so that they are here when the economy rebounds to a level that will support more jobs.”

Those who left the UAE were mainly residents who lost jobs or were asked to go on extended leave without pay, he said.

“For the 1,000 who say they want to return, it’s a changing figure because sometimes they say they may stay a little longer in case they get a job,” Mr Cortes said.

“Some would rather try for a job here rather than go back and then go through the whole process of trying to return to the UAE.”

From Wednesday, additional flights to Manila started leaving from Dubai after the easing of restrictions on incoming passenger flights.

Flights were stopped to help reduce the pressure on quarantine units in the Philippines that were housing thousands of people repatriated from overseas.

Emirates and Etihad cancelled several repatriation flights to Manila last month after airports in the Philippines were temporarily closed.

“There was some backlog because the quarantine facilities back home couldn’t take any more people,” Mr Cortes said.

“That will change this month as the centres are beginning to accept more Filipinos from overseas and this means more flights.”

The consulate will pay for the airfares of some passengers, including 20 housemaids who left their employers because of alleged mistreatment and unpaid wages.

In the Philippines, strict lockdown measures were lifted from Monday to revive an economy on the brink of recession.

The restrictions in place to slow the spread of the virus since mid-March have resulted in the deepest contraction in more than 30 years.

Public transport remains restricted and schools are shut.

The country has recorded more than 20,382 infections and 984 deaths.

Repatriation flights to Manila resumed this week after being halted because of a lack of quarantine capacity