KUWAIT CITY, Jan 14: Ninety-three distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS) that included nine illegitimate Filipino children were repatriated to the Philippines on Thursday as part of the series of mass repatriation of stranded OFWs in Kuwait. Philippine Labour Attache Vivo Vidal and Welfare Officer Yolanda Penaranda along with other staff of the Philippine Embassy and Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) were at the airport to see them off. Members of the Alpha Phi Omega Kuwait Alumni Association 153 (APO-KAA 153) led by its President Noel Amador were also there to assist them during their check-in at the airport.

Philippine Vice Consul Atty Sheila Monedero, Welfare Officer Atty William Merginio and Musa Ibrahim accompanied the OFWs on their flight back to Manila.
Most of the distressed OFWs worked as household service workers who were victims of nonpayment of salaries, fatigue, lack of food, physical, verbal and sexual abuse prompting them to escape from their employers and seek temporary refuge at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Jabriya.

The distressed OFWs beamed with happiness and excitement on their way to the airport. “I’m very happy that I can finally go home and be with my family,” shared Asuncion Nito who left her employer after getting sick with cystitis.

“This is a new year’s wish come true for me as I can finally go home. I miss my family so much. I wasn’t lucky in finding a greener pasture here but with God’s help, hopefully 2011 will be a better year for us,” pointed out Cheryl Conde as tears started to well in her eyes.

Labor Attache Vidal disclosed to the Arab Times that the airfare of all those repatriated was shouldered by the respective manpower agencies of the distressed OFWs as a result of the collaboration between the Philippine Embassy and the Kuwait Ministry of Interior.  However, he clarified that this is apart from the 280 tickets allotted by the Kuwait government for the remaining stranded OFWs at the FRWC.

 “We’re hoping for the full cooperation of the Kuwaiti government to fund the repatriation of other stranded OFWs just like in the previous mass repatriation. With the help and cooperation of the Ministry of Interior all their necessary travel documents were processed and they went straight from the embassy to the airport without passing through the ‘Talha’ or deportation center. We hope this system would continue to ease the repatriation process of other stranded OFWs,” stated Vidal. He thanked HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber A- Sabah for the kindness and generosity extended by the Kuwait government to the stranded OFWs.

He also lauded the POLO staff namely Casley Watamama, Musa Ibrahim, Joey Atienza and Omar Khalil for their efforts in constantly following up the travel documents of the distressed OFWs with Kuwaiti authorities and completing all the legalities of the repatriation.

Currently, there are still 160 distressed OFWs temporarily housed at the FWRC who are awaiting repatriation. Vidal vowed that under the leadership of Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera and in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior they will try their best to repatriate everyone.