03 December 2014 – Fifteen (15) overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Syria, who availed of the Mandatory Repatriation Program (MRP), will arrive at 4:00 p.m. on December 04 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on board Emirates Airlines flight number EK-332 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This brings the total number of Filipinos repatriated from war-torn Syria to 5,543. Of this number, 2,517 were repatriated through Lebanon, with the cooperation, assistance and support of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
The 15 OFWs will travel by land from Damascus to Beirut on December 03. They will be assisted by personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Beirut during their transit at the Lebanese Masna’a border. The said repatriates underwent departure briefing and medical check-up prior to their travel to Manila. Their tickets were shouldered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Damascus.
Aside from the 15 repatriates, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus also assisted the repatriation of a Vietnamese national, Ms. Pham Thi Tuan who sought shelter at the Embassy’s Halfway Quarters on November 23. The assistance extended to Ms. Lan by the Embassy is considered an act of fraternal expression to Vietnam, as both are ASEAN members, which are committed to help each other’s citizens under an agreement that was formalized in 2007. Under this ASEAN agreement, ASEAN member countries agree on helping ASEAN nationals in crisis situations outside the ASEAN region.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus continuously coordinates with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the issuance of exit visas for OFWs who are currently sheltered at the Halfway Quarters.
With the MRP still in place, the Philippine Embassy is inviting the next-of-kin of Filipino workers who are still in Syria to get in touch with the Embassy at the following contact details: 00963-11-6132626, 00963-949155557, 00963-934957926, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and to provide information of their family member’s whereabouts so that immediate assistance can be extended to them. END