PRESS RELEASE
WDC-66-2024
06 September 2024
Embassy Press and Information Section
The Migrant Workers Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (MWO-OWWA) of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, repatriated 19 overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) and their families from Haiti from August to September this year.
Labor Attaché Saul De Vries said that due to limited flights from Haiti, these Filipinos were brought home in batches: three on August 25, nine on September 1 and seven on September 4, 2024. Together, they comprised the last group to return to the Philippines to escape the continuing gang violence that erupted in February and threatened the security of Filipinos living in Haiti.
The MWO-OWWA WDC also repatriated five OFWs on July 2, the first group of Filipinos who returned safely to the Philippines this year. Welfare Officer Mae Codilla said that OWWA Emergency Repatriation Fund and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) AKSYON Fund were utilized for the repatriation.
In June, the DMW issued an order suspending the processing and deployment of both new hires and returning OFWs to Haiti. The order was issued following the decision of the Department of Foreign Affairs to place the Caribbean country under Alert Level 3 because of the breakdown of law and order. ###