Filipinos urged to monitor regional developments

The One Philippines Team in the UAE has warned the nearly one million Filipinos across the seven emirates to closely monitor developments on regional events by way of legitimate sources of news and information.

Posted through the Philippine Embassy-Abu Dhabi official Facebook Page which is linked to the official pages of the Philippine Consulate General-Dubai and Ambassador Ferdinand Alfonso Ver, Gulf Today was also alerted regarding the advisory at 9:50am on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Gulf Today received three enquiries on the legitimacy of the “Emergency Prepping Guide for Filipino OFWs in Dubai” wherein among other “to-do’s,” and under the “Where To Go” section, the concerned are directed to seek security at the Philippine Consulate General in Al Qusais (landlines not mentioned) and other “safe places” namely “public parks and Civil Defence-designated shelters,” considering the volatility of the crisis.

The post had been forwarded many times over and had caused jitters.

On Tuesday and from the One Philippines Team: “In light of recent developments, and, surge of unverified and conflicting social media posts, reports and other online information, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai encourage all Filipinos to closely monitor the news through reputable and credible sources and check for advisories issued by the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Consulate General and UAE authorities. We urge all Filipinos to remain vigilant and alert.”

Both missions “stand ready to provide the necessary assistance to all Filipinos in the UAE.”

Following are the official contact details for assistance: For Filipinos in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain: By Email - [email protected] and [email protected] By SMS, call or WhatsApp Assistance-To-Nationals at +971504438003; Consular and Other Concerns at +971508137836 and Migrant Workers Office (formerly the Philippine Overseas Labour Office - Polo) at +971562709157. For Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates: By SMS, Call or WhatsApp Assistance-To-Nationals at +971565015756; Consular and Other Concerns at +97142207100; Migrant Workers Office at +971506526626 and +971563525558.

In a related news sourced from various Metro Manila-based media outlets, as the Philippines’ flag carrier, Philippine Air Lines (PAL) cancelled its June 24 Manila-Dubai-Manila (PR658/PR659), Manila-Doha (PR684), and Manila-Riyadh-Manila (PR654/PR655), as well as the June 25 Doha-bound (PR685), the early Tuesday morning advisory stated: “We are in constant coordination with international aviation authorities, our network partners, and government agencies to assess any potential impact on our flight operations, particularly those that transit or fly near affected airspace.”

“We advise you not to proceed to the airport if your flight is cancelled,” it further said.

Management said the best “is to regularly check on flight updates by way of the PAL Facebook official page, through www.philippineairlines.com and https://www.philippineairlines.com/em’flight-status. The affected clients may rebook within 60 days from the original flight date, “convert the ticket to travel tickets or refund it without penalty,” according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Cebu Pacific which regularly flies the Manila-Dubai-Manila route shall continue its services.

“Our route does not fly over conflict-affected areas in the Middle East, allowing us to operate safely. We continue to actively monitor the situation and will share further updates as necessary,” according to the official management statement. Passengers may check their flights status over cebupacific.com/flight-status.

Meanwhile, from the Philippine News Agency report, repatriation of at least 361 Filipinos in Israel and Qatar are ongoing.

This was from the Tuesday press conference of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Felicitas Bay, Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Chief Patricia Caunan in Metro Manila wherein discussed also are the reintegration programmes for all the returnees. According to Bay, former labour attache in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, scheduled to land in Metro Manila on Tuesday evening were 26 from Israel who walked until they reached Amman, Jordan, “another additional three from Amman, and one from the West Bank.”

With them were DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac and Assistant Secretary Venecio Legaspi. Another 50 are expected to be in the Philippines either on June 26 or 27. Both Bay and Caunan noted that many overseas Filipino workers are still weighing their options whether to avail of the Philippine Government’s voluntary repatriation programme due to safety concerns or personal and employment considerations. “There are those who have second thoughts because of land travel risks or strong ties with their employers. We respect their decision and continue to reach out,” Bay said.

Tutay gave the assurance that DMW and OWWA are coordinating closely with various agencies to support their re-mainstreaming or reintegration. “Reintegration is not just about finding a job. There are also opportunities for livelihood and entrepreneurship. We are taking a whole-of-government approach to help our kababayans (countrymen) transition successfully,” said the public servant for 28 years who currently advises on the protection of workers’ welfare, ensuring just and humane working conditions and labour employment which include labour standards, safety and health.

From Caunan: “There is enough funding for repatriation. These are from the OWWA Emergency Repatriation and DMW Action Fund.” She added that over 470 in Israel already received assistance on the ground as the first batch of returnees are set to receive Php150,000.00 (Dhs9,698.54) each aside from “food, hygiene kits, counseling and temporary shelter upon arrival.