135 distressed OFWs repatriated in 4 days

MANILA, Philippines - A total of 135 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been repatriated from three countries in a span of four days, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Thursday.

A report by the agency’s Repatriation and Assistance Division said that 57 of the workers were maids who ran away from their employers in Lebanon to avoid alleged abuses. They arrived in the Philippines Tuesday at 11 a.m. on board Etihad Airways flight A1428.

Reports said that the workers either experienced verbal or physical abuse.

On Wednesday, 14 Filipinos returned to the country at 1 p.m. on Wednesday via Singapore Airlines flight SQ 910 after not being able to adjust to the living conditions in Italy.

The returnees were victims of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked the city of L’Aquila on April 6. L’Aquila is the capital of Abruzzo and is approximately two to three hours from the national capital, Rome.

On Thursday, 49 of the 96 distressed OFWs in Poland returned home at 8:45 a.m. via KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight 0803 – the same flight that will bring home their 15 co-workers on Friday morning.

It was Senator Manuel Villar – known for paying for the repatriation of hundreds of stranded workers – who revealed the situation of these Filipino workers who complained of contract substitution, reduction of agreed salaries, sickness due to inadequate food provision, and heavy work. [See: Help urged for 96 distressed OFWs in Poland]

The OWWA, however, clarified that the repatriation tickets of the 135 distressed OFWs were all paid by the agency. - GMANews.TV

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