The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Zamboanga has processed and assisted a total of 6,680 deportees since January this year.

Ivan Eric Salvador, DSWD regional information officer, told the Philippine News Agency that the social welfare office has so far spent some PHP34.4 million to addressed the needs of the deportees.

Salvador said the funds were used for food, transportation, personal effects, medical, clothing, footwear, bag, family pack, and burial assistance.

Salvador said these deportees usually arrive here aboard a commercial ferry from Malaysia via the city of Sandakan in Sabah.

A local shipping firm plies once a week from the city to Malaysia via Sandakan and vice-versa.

The deportees, from the port, are housed at the Processing Center for Displaced Persons (PCDP) of the DSWD in Barangay Talon-Talon where they will be processed.

The PCDP can accommodate a maximum of 800 deportees and the maximum number of days they stay in the center is one week.

Those who are from nearby provinces are sent home two or three days upon arrival at the center.

Undocumented Filipinos are sent home from Malaysia as the Malaysian government has intensified the crackdown on illegal migrants.

More Filipinos, who are staying illegally in Malaysia are expected to arrive in the country in the coming months.

However, the number of deportees this year from Malaysia is lesser compared to that of last year, which was over 10,000. (PNA)