More than 165,000 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have reunited with their families in their respective provinces, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported on Tuesday.

Based on latest data from the DOLE, the number of OFWs that have been transported back to their hometowns has reached 165,223.

The figure was recorded since the transportation assistance by the government started in mid-May.

The biggest number of returning OFWs recorded was from May 25-31 with 25,002; followed by August 10-16 with 17,085.

The other number of OFWs that have been sent to their provinces in the last three months are the following: May 15-24, 8,922; June 1-7, 8,902; June 8-14, 7,279; June 15-21, 6,782; June 22-28, 10,231; June 29-July 5, 9,113; July 6-12, 10,163; July 13-19, 10,501; July 20-26, 11,546; July 27-Aug 2, 11,630; Aug 3-Aug 9, 11,384; August 17, 2,057; August 18, 2,349; August 19, 1,855; August 20, 1,359; August 21, 2,042; August 22, 3,277; August 23, 2,029; and August 24, 1,715.

The repatriated OFWs are transported to their provinces in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao via air, land and sea.

The returning Filipino workers from abroad have been transported by Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) through DOLE-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Transportation (DOTr)-Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)-Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Department of Health (DOH)-Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-local government units (LGUs). (PNA)