The cost of repatriating overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the Middle East has nearly doubled to around ₱190,000 per person, driven by rising airfare and insurance expenses amid ongoing regional hostilities, according to a preliminary report by the Senate Committee on Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy chaired by Senator Win Gatchalian.
The committee warned that the escalating expenses are rapidly depleting government emergency funds. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) reported that nearly 20 percent of its ₱1.6-billion repatriation fund has already been utilized just weeks into the crisis.
Officials told the panel that repatriation costs, previously below ₱100,000, have surged to ₱190,000 due to higher ticket prices and expanded insurance requirements.
The committee projected that if just one percent of the 2.4 million OFWs in the Middle East — or about 24,000 workers — needed evacuation, the government would require approximately ₱4.8 billion, a figure that could quickly exhaust available resources.
In its April 1 report, Gatchalian recommended tapping contingent funds or passing a supplemental appropriation to immediately support emergency repatriation and reintegration efforts.
He also called for a long-term “whole-of-government” reintegration strategy and expressed support for the proposed Bagong Balikbayan Act, which aims to institutionalize sustained assistance for returning OFWs, from pre-deployment to post-return.
As of Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed that 344 Filipinos, including 228 OFWs, had returned via the seventh government-chartered flight from Dubai.
Meanwhile, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros proposed a ₱52.8-billion supplemental fund, with ₱18 billion allocated to strengthen the DMW’s emergency repatriation efforts in coordination with OWWA.