MANILA — A total of 149 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait returned to the Philippines on Saturday as part of government repatriation efforts amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said the workers arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 over the weekend, comprising 112 OFWs from, Saudi Arabia, and 37 from Kuwait.

Of the total, 38 OFWs from Riyadh reached Manila on Saturday evening aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR 928. They were followed by 37 workers from Kuwait and an additional 74 Filipinos from Riyadh.

The arrivals come as drone and missile strikes have increased across the region. The Houthis, an Iran-aligned group based in Yemen, have carried out repeated drone and missile attacks during the conflict. The international airport in Riyadh was temporarily closed after a Houthi drone strike killed 14 people and injured 300 others, including seven.

In a separate incident, a Filipino was killed on Thursday in an explosion aboard an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. Initial reports suggested the blast was caused by a drone attack, but authorities have yet to verify the cause of the incident. The Persian Gulf is a critical corridor for global oil shipments, and incidents involving tankers in the waterway are closely monitored by maritime authorities and energy markets.

The Middle East has long been among the top destinations for Filipino workers, with Saudi Arabia historically hosting one of the largest overseas Filipino communities. Filipinos in the Gulf work across sectors ranging from domestic and construction work to healthcare and services. Remittances sent home by OFWs have exceeded $30 billion annually in recent years, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, making them a key pillar of the Philippine economy.

Repatriation of overseas workers is typically carried out by the Department of Migrant Workers in coordination with OWWA and Philippine embassies and consulates. The DMW was created in 2021 to consolidate government services for Filipino migrants, and the Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a four-level crisis alert system for countries, under which mandatory repatriation is enforced at Alert Level 4. OWWA also administers welfare and reintegration programs for returning Filipino workers.

This report was originally published by BusinessWorld and reported by Francessca S. Abalos.