OFW facing travel ban for unpaid debts in Dubai finally sent home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Alberto Rebanco, 61, was facing a travel ban — he wasn’t allowed to leave the country due to his unpaid bank debts. After months of legal battle, however, he was repatriated on February 6, according to the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) of the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai.

A Dubai court ordered him to be sent home after it was established he had a medical condition that needed to be attended to, and that he could not pay for his loan and the interest it had incurred.

The MWO handled Rebanco’s case in collaboration with an MWO-retained lawyer, Eisa Khalifeh of EY Legal Services.

Labor attaché John Rio Bautista said he will look into whether Rebanco stands to receive financial support from MWO’s ATN, or from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), for his heart issues.

“Hopefully, OWWA could help me with a small business when I go home and medical support,” Rebanco, a native of Guinobatan, Albay, told Rappler in Filipino prior to his repatriation.

An OFW for 24 years

Rebanco has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and acute decompensated heart failure with reduced ejection fraction upon admission in June 2025 at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Al Muhaisnah Medical Fitness Center (AMMFC) of Dubai Health.

“As a result of his medical condition, his employment…was terminated so he could seek medical attention in the Philippines. He received his end-of-service benefits and was booked on a flight back home on August 26, 2025.

“However, at the Dubai International Airport, [police] approached him and stated that he has a travel ban due to an existing bank case. He knew that his…loan balance was only AED27,000 and was informed that the amount was approximately AED45,000,” records showed.  

Rebanco has been admitted to another ICU in 2005 for three days due to the heart condition. After five years, he was again confined in the ICU at another hospital for the same issue, court papers showed.

He also has a kidney condition.

Legal

Rebanco attended a legal consultation on August 27, 2025. Eventually, he obtained his Dubai Health Authority Medical Certificate (DHAMC) and submitted it to Dubai courts to request that his travel ban be lifted.

“Furthermore, the judge endorsed his execution file to Charity (Goodness Court) for appropriate action and notified the bank (complainant),” the ruling for his repatriation said.

Normally, those facing travel ban spend time in jail after which they are sent home with a prohibition to re-enter the UAE.

Rebanco has been in Dubai working as a security guard making AED2,000 a month for the past 24 years. He has two grown-up children.

“Hindi na ako babalik ng Dubai kasi maghahanap ako ng work sa Pilipinas,” Rebanco said. (I am not going back to Dubai because I will be looking for work in the Philippines.) – Rappler.com