16 December 2013 - Undersecretary for Migrants and Workers’ Affairs Jesus I. Yabes personally extended his condolences to the relatives of Filipinos who were killed during the terrorist attack at the Defense Complex Hospital in Sana’a, Yemen. He also visited the injured Filipinos in hospital and assured them of assistance in their medical treatment and repatriation.

On December 11 DFA Undersecretary Yabes personally extended his condolences to the relatives of Filipinos who died during the attack in Sana’a, Yemen. He assured them that the Embassy’s team in Sana’a is closely coordinating with officials of the Defense Complex Hospital for the immediate repatriation of the remains of the casualties to the Philippines.

On December 12, Undersecretary Yabes met with Dr. Khalid Yahya Baker, Director of the Yemen Military Hospital, regarding the two injured Filipinos confined at hospital. Dr. Baker informed Undersecretary Yabes that the two injured Filipinos are receiving close medical attention. He added that one of the injured will be discharged in a few days while the other will be flown to Jordan to receive specialized treatment.

After the meeting, Undersecretary Yabes personally visited the two injured Filipinos and expressed his readiness to extend to them further assistance regarding their medical treatment and eventual repatriation to the Philippines. 

He also met with other Filipino workers from the hospital and assured them assistance in their immediate repatriation. He also assured them that the Embassy will continue to coordinate with concerned Yemeni authorities for their service entitlements. DFA will also be coordinating with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on other assistance that they may receive upon their arrival in the Philippines.

The Philippines earlier raised the Alert Level in Yemen to Three (3) signaling voluntary repatriation of Filipinos from Yemen. Alert Level 3 also precludes the deployment of new and returning Filipino workers to the country. END