Released: 8 overstaying Pinoys in Turks and Caicos

MANILA, Philippines – Eight Filipino construction workers who were arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean Islands over immigration violations are on their way back to the Philippines, the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC said on Wednesday, April 24.

The 8 overseas Filipino workers were detained in the British territory for overstaying and lack of permits. Their employers abandoned them when a number of companies in the area were forced to close shop as a result of the recession in the United States.

They left for the Philippines Monday, April 22. Filipinos in the Caribbean Islands contributed money for their return tickets to Manila, the embassy said. 

The release came two weeks after a team from the Embassy headed by Consul General Ariel Penaranda and Labor Attaché Luzviminda Padilla reached out to the Caribbean Islands’ immigration authorities during their visit to the islands’ capital, Provindenciales, on April 8, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr  said in a statement.