'It was the longest 3 months of my life,' says Pinay overstayer who's finally home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — For a 34-year-old single mother who grew up in a remote barangay and was only able to finish high school, living underground in a big city can be nightmarish.

“Patago-tago ako (I was always in hiding),” said Dolly Bordones of Capiz. 

“Hindi ako nakakatulog nang maayos sa gabi. Sobrang hirap at may takot na parang nasa kulungan ka (I could not sleep well at night. It was so difficult, like as if I was in jail),” she added.

Keeping her awake almost all night, said Bordones, was the nagging thought about what the next day might bring.

“Hindi ko alam kung ano naman ang gagawin ko sa susunod na mga araw. Iniisip ko nakalagpas ako ngayon, paano naman ang susunod (I did not know what I’d be doing in the coming next days. I made it that day. What about the next ones)?” she said. 

Aside from wondering whether she’d finally be get caught when she once again braved the “outside world” in the morning, Bordones said she’d also cry in bed thinking about her children back home. 

“Naiisip ko kung paano na sila. Paano na ang pag-aaral nila? Hindi ako regular na nakapagpa-padala ng pera (I would think about what would happen to them. What would happen with their schooling? I haven’t been able to regularly send money),” Bordones said.

Bordones overstayed from May to August this year – the longest three months of her life, she said.

“Tatlong buwan lang, pero parang napakatagal. Iyon na ang pinakamatagal kong tatlong buwan dahil araw araw sapalaran (It was only three months but it seemed forever. Those were my longest three months because I was always taking chances each day),” she said.

Bordones counts among almost 600 overstaying Filipinos so far repatriated by the Philippine government in consonance with the UAE’s two-month amnesty program that expired on Oct. 31, 2024. 

The program waived all penalties and fines – in Bordonas’ case, approximately AED4,500 at AED50 for each day she was overstaying. 
She can also come back to the UAE and start over again with a clean slate, which she said she intends to do.

But for now, all that Bordones has are stars in her eyes, excited to see her three daughters whom she left at the care of her mother. 
She doesn’t have gifts, or pasalubong, for them, though.

“Tanging sarili ko lang ang dala ko sa kanila na makita nila ako na buhay (I only have myself for them to see that I’m alive),” she said. 

Like most overstayers in the UAE, Bordones didn’t tell her kids, nor mother, that she had gone into hiding.

“Ayaw ko na mag-alala sila. Alam ko na kakayanin ko ang lahat ng pagsubok (I didn’t want them to worry. I knew I could handle the challenges),” Bordones said. 

The only relative privy to her situation was a cousin who lives in Dubai and who helped her throughout her days in hiding. 

Bordones said she survived by taking odd jobs that at times paid AED50 for 12 hours of work. She couldn’t complain.

Bordones flew home, along with other repatriates, on board Philippine Airlines flight 659 on the evening of Oct. 30 and, as of writing, was staying at a hotel in Pasay City, where they will stay before their trip to their respective hometowns.

Bordones said she could not thank the UAE government enough for the amnesty program.

“Laking pasasalamat ko na nagkaruon ng amnesty program ang bansang UAE para maayos lahat lahat (I am so thankful that UAE implemented the program that sorted everything),” she said. 

Bordones said she is also thankful to a fellow Filipino, Shauna Lirio Chaer, who helped her with her amnesty application.

Bordones, domestic helper in Kuwait for two years before she went to Dubai on April 23, 2024, tried to work also as a house help. But she wasn’t successful and went into hiding after her visa expired. —KBK, GMA Integrated News