The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Sunday extended arrival assistance at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to 32 Filipino household service workers repatriated from Damascus, Syria.

OWWA Administrator Carmelita S. Dimzon said that stranded Filipino women workers returned to the country after being processed by staff from the OWWA post and Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) based in Damascus.

Dimzon, who was at the NAIA, directed OWWA personnel at the OWWA Center to assist the repatriated workers sort out documentation and other concerns.

She explained that OWWA shouldered the transportation and other expenses related to securing the exit visas and other documentation of the workers before they returned to the country.

The stranded workers left their workplaces due to issues on employment terms, salary disputes and cases of maltreatment from their employers.

Some of the stranded workers were found to not having their passports with them as these were withheld by their employers.

"We don't want them to endure the hardship and trauma of losing their jobs and it is our objective to bring them home as soon as possible," said Dimzon.

She also said that the workers would undergo debriefing and would be given psycho-social counseling to help them cope with the trauma.

The OWWA administrator added their service to its members in distress include repatriation and welfare assistance, such as providing food, medicine and counseling in temporary shelters operated by consulates and embassies, particularly in the Middle East.