20 Pinays, 9 children repatriated from Jeddah

At least 20 Filipino women repatriated from Saudi Arabia, along with nine children, arrived home in Manila Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. According to the DFA, the Filipinos arrived in Manila on an Etihad Airlines flight. "Most of the women and children were part of those who were brought to and sheltered at the Consulate-operated Seaport Hajj Terminal facility and who were cleared for repatriation by the Jawazat (Saudi Directorate General for Passports)," the DFA said in a news release posted on its website early Wednesday. It said representatives from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) and from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) welcomed and extended assistance to the repatriates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). OWWA representatives gave the repatriates a stress debriefing and counseling at the receiving lounge of the airport. The repatriation of the women and the children followed the successful negotiation and representation by the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah with the Saudi government and the immigration authorities for the issuance of their exit papers. Also, the Consulate arranged the repatriates' flight bookings and facilitated the release of their travel documents. The DFA, together with OWWA, shouldered their plane tickets. For the past two weeks, the Consulate repatriated some 382 Filipinos who arrived in batches. Another batch of Filipinos is expected to arrive in Manila Wednesday, the DFA added. These Filipinos were those who went beyond the authorized period of stay and underwent processing at the Saudi deportation center. The DFA-OUMWA, together with the Office of the President-Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Department of Labor and Employment, OWWA, House of Representatives-Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, and the Office of Muslim Affairs, made representations for and coordinated efforts to provide the appropriate assistance for the repatriation operations of the Filipinos who went beyond their authorized period of stay in Saudi Arabia. The Hajj Terminal operations is a special arrangement made by the Philippine Government with Saudi authorities for the repatriation of overstaying Filipinos in the country. It started in September 2009 after representations by the Consulate with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the approval of the Office of the Emir of Makkah to address the cases of Filipinos staying under the Sitteen Khandara overpass in hope of an expedited deportation proceeding. Under the arrangement, the overstaying Filipinos are brought to and are sheltered at the Hajj Terminal, while awaiting the provision of their ticket and the processing of their exit papers. The use of the facilities at the Hajj Terminal are paid for by the Consulate at SR15 a day per person. — LBG, GMA News