25 June 2013 – The Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that it successfully secured clearances from Lebanese Immigration authorities for 31 Filipinos to be repatriated from Syria.

The fresh batch of repatriates will travel to the Syrian-Lebanese border assisted by the personnel of the Philippine Embassy in Damascus.

Cross-border repatriation procedures at the Masna’a border crossing will start in the early hours of June 25 (Lebanese time, GMT +2). From the border, the repatriates will proceed directly to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport for their 03:25 p.m. flight to Bahrain.

They will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal I tomorrow, June 26 at 05:15 p.m. via Gulf Air flight GF 156.

Upon the group’s arrival, the total number of repatriates will reach 4,339.

The DFA continues to urge all Filipinos who are still in Syria to seek immediate repatriation as the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate. For assistance they may call the Embassy in Damascus at 963-11-6132626, +963-96-8955057, +963-93-4957926, +963-99-2264145, +963-96-8953340, or +963-95-8903893.

The relatives of Filipinos in Syria may also provide the DFA with up-to-date information regarding their kin’s present location and contact details in Syria. Those who wish to do so may call the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) at (02) 834-3240 or 834-4583 or the DFA’s 24-hour Action Center at (02) 834-3333. END