Luck plays a role in repatriation of some OFWs in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – For some Filipinos, being repatriated is so random that it can come down to plain luck.

Take the case of frail, 59-year-old Anthony Cueva, who has been in hiding for lack of legal papers for the past five years. He was a chance passenger but made it because a diabetic repatriate whose blood sugar spiked so high that she had to forgo the flight.

Or Nina Reyes, a jobless nanny, who accompanied her departing friend to the processing center only to be told that she, too, was up for repatriation that same…