DAVAO CITY — The Department of Foreign Affairs has completely repatriated on Tuesday the remains of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died in the Middle East.
In a press statement, the DFA said the last batch of the repatriation from Saudi Arabia arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday afternoon.
A chartered Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight carrying 54 caskets from Riyadh arrived in Manila at 2:22 p.m.
According to PAL, the remains were from Alkhobar (20), Jeddah (10), and Riyadh (24). Thirty-nine of them died from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The cadavers of the 191 OFWs from the Middle East were sent home in three batches through the joint efforts of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the DFA.
The remains of those who died of Covid-19 would be cremated immediately, while the kin of those who died of natural causes have the option to bury them or have them cremated, the DOLE earlier announced. -Newsline.ph
