DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo gives a short welcome message for the 150 overseas Filipinos who arrived today at the NAIA from Saudi Arabia.
[UPDATED as of 10am] Some 150 repatriated overseas Filipinos (OFs) composed of 11 families with 30 members all in all from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia arrived today at 10 am and were met by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy Taguiwalo together with representatives of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Department of Health (DOH).
Similar to the assistance provided to the earlier batch of repatriates, DSWD will provide meals to the OFs and augmentation assistance amounting to P5,000 to the mothers. The financial aid is meant for the purchase of basic goods for the children as they travel to their hometowns.
The Secretary said, “The repatriates are those who have no legal papers in Riyadh, thus, life in the said country had been difficult. As they come home, we would like to extend even a little assistance to help them with their plight and express government’s care in support to the mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte to make government’s services available to those in need.”
Aside from the financial assistance, DSWD will refer the OFs to other concerned agencies for appropriate services such as medical.
On the other hand, OWWA provides temporary shelter to those OFs who live in the provinces. OWWA also takes care of their transportation needs as they return to their home towns. ###
