The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) has sent home Friday 200 returning Filipinos from Sabah to their respective hometowns in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In a statement, the DSWD-9 said the returning Filipinos are residents of Bongao and Sitangkai municipalities in the BARMM province of Tawi-Tawi.
The agency provided transportation assistance and financial support for food and other basic needs of the returning group during their travel.
The DSWD said the batch of repatriated Filipinos from Sabah arrived in this city on Dec. 20, 2025.
They were temporarily housed at the DSWD’s Processing Center for Displaced Persons (PCDP) in Barangay Mampang here.
PCDP head Abdulman Samson said they held a year-end celebration for the returning Filipinos at the center on Thursday.
“The activity is conducted annually to help the clients experience the spirit of the holidays despite being away from their families,” the DSWD-9 said. (PNA)