THE first batch of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were evacuated from Iraq would be coming home, the Department of the National Defense (DND) said on Saturday. DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the 14 would be transported to Doha, Qatar from the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad and flown to Manila on Sunday, January 12, he said. Andolong said the number “may increase” as “the Embassy continues to call on other OFWs who wish to come home”. Secretary Roy Cimatu, special envoy to the Middle East, is now in Qatar enforcing the repatriation on the ground, Andolong said. The DND spokesman said that the authorities were constantly assessing the situation in Iran, Iraq, Libya and other neighboring states.

Source: Manila Times January 11, 2020 13:12 UTC