BY DANIE MAE FAJARDO-DELA CRUZ
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is tapping the private sector to bring home overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the civil war in Sudan.
According to Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, the Philippine Airlines has a partnership with EGYPTAIR that would enable it to come up with flight arrangements from Cairo to Dubai and onward to Manila.
“Bayanihan spirit na ang umiiral dito. We, including the private sector, are all part of one team. ‘Yan ang bilin ng ating Pangulo. What truly matters is that our OFWs will be safely home soon,” Ople said.
OFWs in Sudan are leaving that country by land. They cross the border to Egypt.
Early this week, two groups of OFW from Sudan took commercial flights via Saudia Airlines on May 3 and arrived in Manila on May 4.
“The DMW and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) teams continue to look after our distressed OFWs as part of our commitment to bring them home in close coordination, of course, with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),” said Ople.
OWWA is an attached agency of the DMW.
The two groups were composed of 80 and 72 OFWs, respectively. They belonged to the 340 OFWs that were assisted by the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Cairo in crossing over from the Sudan Port into the Argeen Land Port Authority in Aswan, Egypt.
OWWA Administrator Arnell Ignacio joined one of the groups on the flight home.
“The two commercial flights travelled to Manila via Jeddah and Riyadh,” Ople said.
OWWA and the DMW are committed to bring as many of our kababayans home, so that the process of healing from the trauma of Sudan’s civil war can commence, according to the Secretary./PN
