800 Filipino Deportees From Sabah Arrive In Zamboanga City, Philippines, On Friday

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- A total of 800 Filipino deportees from Sabah arrived in Zamboanga City Port on Friday.

Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office IX said this was the second batch of deportees received this year since repatriation operations resumed, with the first batch having arrived in January 2026.

DSWD, through its Processing Centre for Displaced Persons (PCDP) said the returnees, from three detention centres in Sandakan, Papar, and Tawau, arrived at 8 pm, Oct 30.

The group comprised 589 men, 89 women, 64 boys and 58 girls, with all the children under the age of 12.

“Following their arrival, the deportees were transferred to the PCDP for further processing and assessment to determine their individual needs and the appropriate interventions and assistance,” the agency said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

On Oct 29, Bernama reported that the Immigration Department in Sabah will carry out six large-scale repatriation operations involving undocumented Filipino migrants detained at immigration depots in the state, sending them back to their country of origin.

Its director, Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof, said the plan involved the repatriation of 800 detainees each week, starting Oct 29, to ease congestion at immigration depots and facilitate enforcement operations.

She said a total of 5,357 Filipino detainees had been repatriated to their country of origin to date. 

-- BERNAMA