Manila, April 3 -- The Philippine government has successfully secured the provisional release of 17 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), 12 men and 5 women, who were arrested and detained in Qatar for illegal protest.

In a Palace press briefing on Thursday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that upon learning of the incident, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. immediately ordered the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Philippine Embassy in Doha to intervene and provide legal and welfare assistance.

"Based on the President's directive to secure the immediate release of the 17 who are still detained, the Qatari authorities in two separate batches - the males at around 2:30 a.m. Q...