40 Fishers from Indonesia Set to Sail Home
(Manado PCG Photo)
BITUNG CITY 15 October 2020 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) completed the final preparations for the repatriation tomorrow, 16 October 2020, of 40 distressed fishers from North Sulawesi with the arrival this morning of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel, BRP TUBBATAHA, at SATROL Wharf.
“This is the first repatriation of Filipinos by sea from Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This repatriation would not be possible without our friends from the Philippine Coast Guard and our strong bilateral relations with Indonesia,” said Manuel Ayap, Acting Head of the Philippine Consulate General in Manado.
The Philippine Consulate facilitated the issuance of travel documents and the approval of the immigration clearances to the Filipinos. With the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, they also secured the diplomatic clearance for the voyage of BRP TUBBATAHA.
The 40 Filipinos will undertake a 21-hour voyage by sea and will arrive in General Santos on Saturday, 17 October 2020.
The DFA Consular Office in General Santos City (CO Gensan) has coordinated with the local government authorities to prepare for the arrival of the repatriates and set up the COVID-19 protocol and their quarantine facilities. CO GenSan has also mobilized the local governments of Saranggani and Davao, the hometown of several repatriates.
All 40 Filipinos underwent RT-PCR testing in compliance with Executive Order No. 42 of the Office of the City Mayor of General Santos, requiring returning residents to present a negative RT-PCR test result issued within 72 hours prior to the date of their arrival. END
To prepare for their repatriation to General Santos City, Filipino fishers underwent RT-PCR test conducted by North Sulawesi Health Agency upon request by the Department of Foreign Affairs (Manado PCG Photo)
(Manado PCG Photo)
(Manado PCG Photo)
(Manado PCG Photo)
DFA Consular Office in General Santos Officer-in-Charge Helen Grace Tabora (middle) and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer Grecille Griengo meet with Mayor Ronnel Rivera. (CO GenSan Photo)