22 December 2015 – Nineteen (19) Filipinos from Syria, including two children, will be joining their families and friends in the Philippines in time for the holidays. They will be arriving on December 24 at the Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 3:10 p.m. via flight QR 932.

The repatriation, in line with the ongoing Mandatory Repatriation Program (MRP) for Filipinos in Syria, was facilitated through the joint effort of the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, Syria and Beirut, Lebanon with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  IOM-Damascus shouldered the airfare costs.

The Filipinos will be travelling on December 23 by land from Damascus, Syria to the Lebanese Masna’a border where a team from the Philippine Embassy in Beirut will be facilitating their transit from the Masna’a border to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus continues to coordinate with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the issuance of exit visas for OFWs who are currently sheltered at the Embassy’s Halfway Quarters.

As in the past, the issuance of the exit visas to the 19 Filipinos, and payment of other fees and related exit requirements and penalties were facilitated and waived by the Syrian government.

The new batch of repatriates brings the total number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria to 5,942 since the unrest started in 2011. Of this figure, 2,715 were repatriated through Lebanon, with the cooperation of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.

With the MRP still in place, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus strongly encourages the next-of-kin of Filipino workers who remain in Syria to provide information on their family member’s whereabouts so that immediate assistance can be extended to them.

The Embassy may be reached through the following contact details: telephone numbers 00963-11-6132626, 00963-949155557, 00963-934957926; and e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. END