2nd repatriation flight being set to leave Afghanistan —OWWA

By JAMIL SANTOS, GMA News A second repatriation flight is now being prepared by the government for OFWs stranded in the now Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said Thursday. "OFWs that are still in Afghanistan are around 100 that needed to be repatriated. As far as I know, a second repatriation flight is already being organized," OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said at the Laging Handa briefing, citing Department of Foreign Affairs' data. "I think the 100 will take about three or four repatriation flights," he added. Cacdac said the OFWs will receive financial, livelihood, and scholarship assistance through the various DOLE programs, including the DOLE-AKAP and the Tabang OFW programs. A batch of 35 Filipinos who had been rescued from conflict-hit Afghanistan arrived in Manila on Tuesday, according to the DFA. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday as the Islamist militant Taliban fighters entered capital city Kabul. Hundreds of Afghans and diplomats flocked to Kabul airport to catch flights out of the country. —LBG, GMA News

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