72 remains of OFWs from Saudi Arabia arrive in PH

The remains of 72 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia arrived in the Philippines on August 28, 2020, as the fourth batch of repatriations via a Philippine Airlines chartered flight.

Of the 72 deceased OFWs, 62 died from COVID-19 related diseases, while 10 succumbed to other causes.

Forty of the repatriated remains came from Al Khobar, 17 from Jeddah, and 15 from Riyadh.

Three additional OFWs' bodies, who died from non-COVID-19 causes and were not accommodated on the chartered flight, were brought home on a separate commercial flight from Riyadh.

The remains classified as COVID cases were immediately brought to nearby crematoriums, while the rest were transported to their respective provinces at government expense.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III stated that the repatriation is the government's way of paying respect and giving recognition to the OFWs' contributions.

This brings the total number of repatriated OFWs' remains from Saudi Arabia to 267.