Why repatriation takes some time

Published by rudy Date posted on December 14, 2009

RINA JIMENEZ-DAVID WROTE in her Dec. 2 column (“Giving migrant workers a voice”) that she heard a group of women OFWs complaining, over dzMM, that their repatriation from Dubai were delayed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The OFWs had run away from their employers and allegedly “languished for months in a refuge at the embassy in Dubai” because they were told by OWWA that there was no money for their air tickets until dzMM raised fares from donors.

Please allow us to set the record straight.

1. OWWA has sufficient funds to pay for the repatriation of its members. Repatriation, however, is not a simple matter of obtaining plane tickets. Workers flying out of Dubai (and other Middle East countries) must show to the immigration office that their employers have cleared them for departure.

2. The subject OFWs were reported to Dubai’s immigration police as “runaways,” breaching their contracts. Under the laws of Dubai, they had overstayed and turned illegal aliens. Overstaying is considered in Dubai as an immigration/police case, not a labor case.

3. The OFWs did not “languish for months in a refuge.” They were sheltered at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) supervised by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and taken care of by the welfare officers while their repatriation was being worked out. Our POLO spent some time negotiating with the employers to release them, return their passports and issue the corresponding exit clearance.

4. OWWA paid the penalties and fines imposed on the workers for overstaying to be able to obtain the clearance for the workers.

5. The workers were in “ready-to-depart” status as early as Nov. 10, 2009. But airline seats could not be confirmed and their “eye scan” at immigration had to be scheduled. They finally left Dubai last Nov. 26 and upon arrival the following day, they were met at the airport by OWWA officers who facilitated immigration and customs formalities.
6. ABS-CBN had earlier gone to the Philippine consulate in Dubai and requested for names of nine workers who traveled to Dubai on visit visas (considered undocumented) whom they could help repatriate. Since there were only two workers at the FWRC on visit visas at that time, ABS-CBN kindly included seven workers on the list.

7. OFWs who are sheltered at the FWRCs in the Gulf States are awaiting conclusion of the negotiations of the POLO/OWWA with the employers for immigration clearances. As soon as these are ready, the workers will be repatriated immediately. There is no reason for OWWA to delay their repatriation.

OWWA does not “dilly-dally” in shelling out money to help OFWs in trouble because we are fully aware that the funds are theirs, not government’s. Our role as mere caretaker and administrator of the funds is clear to us. –Philippine Daily Inquirer
—CARMELITA S. DIMZON,
administrator,
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration

July 2025

Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.

Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar.  Reject Military!

#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

July


3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 Ju
ly – International Plastic Bag Free Day
 
5 July –
World Youth Skills Day 
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day 
17 July – World Day for
International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons 


Monthly Observances:

Schools Safety Month

Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month

Weekly Observances:

Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week

 

Daily Observances:

First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines

Categories

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.