DFA Continues to Bring Home Distressed Filipinos from Middle East

DFA-OUMWA with the five female repatriates from Baghdad, Iraq, who arrived early morning of 01 February 2020. (Photo by DFA-OUMWA)

03 February 2020 — The DFA continues to repatriate distressed Filipinos from the Middle East region as 22 Filipinos are now out of harm’s way. A series of repatriations from Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon have taken place in the past five days.

“The DFA will continue to provide assistance to our kababayan who wish to come home from conflict areas in the Middle East. Our people in the Embassies will not leave their posts until the last Filipino is flown out of harm’s way,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said.

The Philippine Embassy in Iraq, with the help of the two Rapid Response Teams (from Manila) in Baghdad and Erbil, managed to send home a total of nine Filipinos this week. The repatriates arrived in Manila in three batches on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Thirty Filipinos have availed of the mandatory repatriation program since 08 January 2020, when the DFA raised Alert Level 4 (Mandatory Repatriation) in the entire country of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Syria sent off three adult females, all trafficking victims, who arrived in Manila on Friday morning. Syria has been under Alert Level 4 since December 2011.

Lastly, 10 adult females have finally come home from Lebanon. The latest repatriation on Sunday afternoon brought the total number of the beneficiaries of the Voluntary Repatriation Program of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon to 117 Filipinos, which include seven minors.

Another batch, including 31 adults and 15 minors, is expected to arrive in Manila tomorrow afternoon.

The repatriation expenses, such as the airfare, exit visa, and immigration penalty fees were all shouldered by the DFA. END

DFA-OUMWA receives the arrival of 10 female repatriates from Lebanon, who arrived on 02 February 2020. (Photo by DFA-OUMWA)

Three female repatriates from Syria prepare for their interview with IACAT personnel at the NAIA Terminal 3 immigration area. (Photo by DFA-OUMWA)