MORE OVERSEAS PINOYS ASSISTED UNDER PBBM ADMIN

 

Dateline Kamuning:

As part of efforts to bolster response to the needs of overseas Filipinos (OFs) under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has repatriated more than 7,000 OFs this year as part of its duty to ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad.

 

 

Through the repatriation efforts led by the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA), a total of 7,880 overseas Filipinos were repatriated from January to November 2022.

In its accomplishment report presented to Malacañang, the DFA said 57.67 percent of this number are from the Middle East; 942 OFs and distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are from Kuwait, and 70 are from Sri Lanka.

President Marcos earlier said the coordination between the DFA and the newly created Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) would be further strengthened in a bid to provide assistance to OFs.

In his official trips abroad, the chief executive has described OFWs as the pride of the Philippines who “bring honor to the Filipino nation.”

Marcos likewise recognized the valuable contribution of OFWs, especially during the time when the country’s economy was dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, on the delivery of consular services, DFA issued a total of 3,589,620 passports from January to October this year.

The DFA opened an additional six temporary off-site passport services facilities.

As of November this year, DFA has issued 55,574 visas and 551,635 Apostille certificates.

On bilateral engagements, bilateral agreements were signed on defense, culture, counterterrorism, trade and investment, technology and data protection, and migrant workers protection.