Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot, accompanied by Vice Consul and Assistance to Nationals Unit Head Adrian Audrey L. Baccay, leads the send-off for the 63 beneficiaries of the Embassy Assisted Repatriation Program at Kuwait International Airport on 24 September 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
25 September 2019 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait continues to repatriate undocumented and distressed Filipinos from Kuwait—sending home 63 Overseas Filipino Workers who comprise the sixth batch of the Embassy Assisted Repatriation Program (EARP) for 2019, and bringing to 327 the number of OFWs who were sent home this year.
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot on 24 September 2019 personally spearheaded the send-off for the 63 OFWs who have expired visas or absconding cases, accompanying them from the Embassy to their check-in at Kuwait International Airport.
At the Embassy, Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot explained to the OFW-repatriates that the EARP is a project of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Illegal Residency Monitoring and Immigration Departments of the Kuwait Ministry of Interior.
Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot led the distribution of $100 financial assistance for each of the 64 EARP beneficiaries, given by the DFA under its P1-billion Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Fund to help them start a new life in the Philippines.
The Embassy Chargé d’Affaires also offered words of encouragement to the EARP beneficiaries, saying, “Hindi dito sa Kuwait nagtatapos ang buhay. Baka nasa ibang lugar ang suwerte natin. Para sa kinabukasan niyo, patuloy na palawakin ang inyong kakayahan tulad ng pag-e-enroll sa TESDA at iba pang mga training institution. Tuloy pa rin ang laban ng buhay.”
Apart from the one-way ticket from Kuwait to Manila and the $100 financial assistance, 24 out of the 63 OFW-repatriates were given domestic tickets from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to their respective provinces. The Embassy also took care of the food provisions of 35 repatriates who stayed at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) shelter.
The Embassy’s Medical Response Team also assisted seven OFWs with various medical conditions, who are included in the sixth batch of the EARP and will soon rejoin their respective families in the Philippines.
The latest batch of the EARP brings to 327 the total number of undocumented and distressed OFWs who have been repatriated by the Embassy since the start of the year. 63 Filipinos were reunited with their loved ones back in the Philippines under the fifth EARP batch on 21 August 2019. The Embassy aims to send home at least two more batches of OFWs before year-end, in time from the Christmas season.
The Embassy encourages all Filipinos in Kuwait with expired visas and absconding cases to take advantage of the EARP. Those who are interested to apply may send a message to the Embassy on Viber and WhatsApp through mobile phone number +965 9800 5115. END
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot gives his words of encouragement to the 63 beneficiaries of the Embassy Assisted Repatriation Program at Kuwait International Airport on 24 September 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
Undocumented Overseas Filipino Workers who availed themselves of the Embassy Assisted Repatriation Program for distressed overseas Filipinos line up at the check-in counter at Kuwait International Airport, prior to their flight back to the Philippines on 25 September 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
