A TOTAL of 35 Filipinos from strife-torn Syria yesterday arrived in the country after availing of the Philippine government’s mandatory repatriation program. 

On hand at the NAIA to assist the Filipino nationals, mostly overseas Filipino workers, were members of the repatriation team under administrator Carmelita Dimzon of the Overseas Workers’Welfare Administration (OWWA), who said that the mandatory repatriation program was raised last December 4.             

Dimzon said the release of the workers from their respective employers was made possible by the negotiating team of the government composed of officials from Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment and the OWWA.  

The “exit clearances” were granted to the workers after the employers agreed to allow them to leave the strife-torn country, she said, adding that the Filipino workers who are opting to avail of the repatriation program have been trickling down at the Philippine Embassy in Damascus. 

Aside from assisting the workers through immigration and customs formalities, the OWWA team also offered them temporary shelter at the OWWA halfway home in Pasay City as well as assistance in their transportation to their respective provinces.

Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/ofw/28702-35-ofws-arrive-from-syria