Remains of 180 OFWs in Saudi Arabia up for repatriation soon

June 23, 2020

Close to 200 remains of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will be up for repatriation soon, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Tuesday.

In an interview, International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas said this was based on their latest data.

"A hundred eighty have died due to natural causes/disease/accident," said Visperas.

"Hopefully, we can start with the repatriation this week," she added.

The 180 is part of the 287 Overseas Filipino Workers that had died in Saudi Arabia since February.

The remaining 107, Visperas  said, will have to be buried in Saudi Arabia as they died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) decided to allow their burial in a foreign land under existing safety protocols.

"Twenty of them were already buried in Saudi Arabia," said the official.  "Their families have already been informed (of their burial)." DMS