30 January 2014 – Thirty-five (35) Filipinos are scheduled to arrive from war-torn Syria on January 31 in line with the Philippine Government’s Mandatory Repatriation Program (MRP).

The repatriates will be arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal I at 4:00 p.m. on board Emirates Airlines flight EK 332. Upon their arrival, the number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria since March 2011 will reach 5,174. Of that number, 2,147 were repatriated through Lebanon.

The Philippine Embassy in Damascus also reported that there are still 2,593 Filipinos in Syria as of January 24. The figure is based on the Embassy’s database and the list provided by the Syrian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL). 

Team Syria, composed of personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine National Police and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, is redoubling its efforts to extricate as many Filipinos as possible, bring them to the Embassy Shelter and prepare them for repatriation.

The Embassy stepped up its efforts to locate our kababayans in Syria. It has sought the assistance of the Syrian Immigration and Passport Directorate (SIPD), proposed the creation of a website containing the names of Filipinos who are still in Syria, and published an advertisement in a Syrian newspaper urging all Filipinos to avail of the MRP and asking their agents and employers to allow them to leave. The Embassy will also host a “Kapihan sa Pasuguan” to reiterate this appeal.

With the MRP still in place, the Philippine Embassy is inviting the next-of-kin of Filipino workers who are still in Syria, to get in touch with the Embassy at the following contact details: 00963-11-6132626, 0963-949155557, 00963-934957926, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and to provide information of their family member’s whereabouts so that immediate assistance could be extended to them. END