DFA Charters Flight for Distressed Filipinos in Vietnam

PASAY CITY 18 April 2020 — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi, shifted gears as it chartered a special flight to bring home 143 distressed Filipinos in Vietnam. Repatriates from Ho Chi Minh City were picked up first before the Filipinos in Hanoi boarded Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight PR596 that landed at NAIA Terminal 1 at 4:51 pm today.

The flight was the second flight to be organized, not just facilitated, by the DFA. The first one that carried Filipinos from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, arrived earlier.

"We will bring back distressed Filipinos wherever they are," said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola in her updates on the DFA's repatriation efforts.

The repatriates underwent health screening by the Bureau of Quarantine, and were accompanied by the Philippine Coast Guard to the designated quarantine facility. This is in line with the government's thrust to facilitate the safe return of our Overseas Filipinos while protecting public health.

The chartered flight also transported various PPEs weighing 160 kilograms donated by “Pinoy sa Hanoi” group led by Mr. Jun Felix intended for the hospitals in the Philippines.

The DFA, together with its Philippine embassies and consulates, continues to work with the various national agencies in assisting our Filipinos around the world in the midst of COVID-19 crisis. END

(Photos by DFA-OUMWA)