Undocumented Overseas Filipino Workers who availed themselves of the Embassy’s 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 10 July 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
11 July 2019 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait successfully repatriated a group of 45 undocumented and distressed Overseas Filipino Workers under the fourth batch of the Embassy’s Assisted Repatriation Program (EARP) on 10 July 2019, bringing to 201 the number of OFWs who were repatriated back home by the Embassy this 2019.
“I am very thankful to the Illegal Residency Monitoring and Immigration Departments of Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior for the invaluable assistance they have provided the Embassy. I would also like to thank the dynamic and resilient officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy for their commitment and dedication in making EARP successful.” Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot said in a statement.
At the same time, Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot said that the EARP with the Kuwaiti government “will continue all year round, as long as there are undocumented and distressed Filipinos who want to be repatriated back home.”
The EARP is a joint program of the Embassy and the Kuwaiti government, through the Illegal Residency Monitoring and Immigration Departments of the Ministry of Interior. The EARP also aims to repatriate overseas Filipinos who were charged with absconding and expired visa cases at the Immigration Department, without having to be detained. Funding for the EARP is sourced from the P1-billion Assistance to Nationals Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2019.
Apart from the all-expenses one-way air ticket from Kuwait to Manila, 23 out of the 45 EARP beneficiaries were also provided with one-way air tickets from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila to their respective provinces. Other forms of welfare assistance were given to the repatriates, such as land transportation from the Embassy to Kuwait International Airport, and food provisions.
The latest batch of repatriates brings to 201 the total number of EARP beneficiaries since the start of 2019. Forty-four undocumented and distressed OFWs were repatriated to the Philippines under the EARP last 13 February 2019, followed by another 44 on 07 March 2019 and a batch of 68 last 11 April 2019.
In another repatriation-related news, the Medical Response Team of the Embassy’s Assistance to National’s Unit assisted last June 2019 in the medical repatriation of OFW Eva Parmis, who had been aided and monitored while she was being treated in the hospital.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa lahat ng mga taga-Philippine Embassy dito sa Kuwait na mula sa simula ay tinulungan at inalalayan ako sa mga check-up ko, pati ng maospital ako, para gumaling sa aking karamdaman at makauwi ako sa Pilipinas. Maraming salamat din po sa Gobyerno ng Pilipinas sa tulong na ibinigay nyo sa akin. Kung hindi dahil sa inyo, hindi ako makakauwi sa Pinas para makasama ang aking pamilya,” said OFW Eva Parmis. END
Excited to fly home. The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait assisted in the Medical repatriation of OFW Eva Parmis in June 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
