A NEW batch of Filipinos are on their way home amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Saturday. OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, together with members of the OWWA Rapid Response Team, leading the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) back to the country. The OWWA said 80 OFWs from Bahrain and 99 OFWs from Kuwait safely arrived in the Saudi capital for their repatriation, while an undisclosed number of OFWs from Qatar are also being assisted by an OWWA team to Riyadh. “Their arrival in Riyadh is part of preparations for the fourth government-chartered flight amid the current situation in the region. This is also the second chartered flight organized by OWWA, scheduled to depart from Riyadh to the Philippines this Monday for our fellow Filipinos from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia,” OWWA said on a Facebook post in Filipino. According to OWWA, this will mark the first time that OFWs from four countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) will be brought together on a single chartered flight as part of the government’s repatriation operations. “The government team continues to process documents and visas, arrange land and air transportation, provide accommodation, and ensure that every step of their return is smooth and safe,” OWWA said. Three previous government-chartered flights brought home Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates, with 318 Filipinos returning home in the third flight. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported that a fourth batch of OFWs from Israel, consisting of 22 OFWs, a child, and three tourists, is expected to come home for the weekend.