29 distressed OFWs repatriated from Lebanon

The government has brought home 29 Overseas Filipino Workers from Beirut, the Department of Labor and Employment reported on Sunday. 
 
"The repatriation was successfully effected in coordination with Lebanon's General Security (Lebanese Immigration Office) and in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.
 
All 29 repatriated OFWs were women. 
 
According to Baldoz, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Lebanon, headed by Labor Attache Bulyok Nilong, facilitated the repatriation.
 
In his report, Nilong said 21 of the 29 OFWs had been sheltered at the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center, also known as Filipino Workers Resource Center, and were repatriated onboard Emirates Airlines Flight EK 336. The remaining eight OFWs will arrive via Gulf Air Flight GF 154.
 
The OFWs were allowed to return home after Lebanon's General Security waived all immigration fees and penalties of the 29 OFWs, as well as the need for individual investigation proceedings on the OFWs' respective immigration cases.
 
"The IOM provided the tickets of the 21 OFWs housed in the FWRC, while the eight walk-in OFWs shouldered the cost of their travel to the Philippines," Nilong said.
 
This is the third mass repatriation of distressed OFWs from Lebanon this year, said Baldoz
 
"The first was on 10 January which saw the arrival of 37 household service workers, and the second was on 27 May with 36 household service workers coming come," the labor secretary said.
 
After their arrival, Baldoz said that the 29 OFWs could be eligible to receive a package of entrepreneurial assistance under the Balik-Pinay, Balik Hanapbuhay Program, in the form of training and a P10,000 capital to start a home business. — Patricia Denise Chiu/JDS, GMA News

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