Tawi-Tawi, BARMM — Two hundred Returning Filipinos from Sabah (ReFS) are now safely back in the country after the MV Kristel Joy docked at Bongao Port on December 27, 2025.
Personnel from the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) Bongao Unit immediately received the repatriates, ensuring their well-being and providing necessary interventions upon arrival.
The repatriated Filipinos underwent careful profiling and documentation — a vital step in identifying their personal backgrounds, current conditions, and the families or communities to where they will return. Authorities emphasized that this process is crucial to ensuring they receive the right support and assistance as they reintegrate into Philippine society.
To address possible distress and hardships experienced abroad, MSSD also provided counseling services to help them process trauma and difficult experiences while in Sabah.
Each returnee was given ₱1,000 in cash assistance for transportation and food needs during the documentation procedures — an initial but essential support to help them move forward.
All services were provided under MSSD’s Humanitarian Assistance and Transfer for Individuals in Distress (HATID) Program, a key initiative dedicated to assisting Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs), repatriated Filipinos, victims of violence, and other vulnerable groups in need of swift government support.
With their safe return now secured, MSSD and local authorities continue to coordinate for the onward transport, reintegration, and long-term welfare of the returnees as they begin anew back home.