12 September 2013 – Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing violence in Syria, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus once again successfully brought 41 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) out of the strife-torn country.

The OFWs were from the batch of 92 OFWs who were evacuated by the Embassy in Damascus from Syria to Lebanon on September 05. They stayed at the Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre (CLMC) for four days under the care of representatives of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut and CLMC.

At 10:30 in the morning of September 09, the repatriates thanked and said their goodbyes to Shelter Team members, Consular staff Melissa Mancenido and Ms. Teresa Collado of the Embassy in Damascus.

Vice Consul Dennis John Briones, assisted by Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer Dexter Macaraeg escorted the repatriates to the Rafik Hariri International Airport and assisted the group in undergoing airline, immigration and boarding formalities.  

Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz once again conveyed the deepest appreciation of the Philippine Government to the Lebanese General Security and to CLMC officials, Engr. Kamal Sioufi and Ms. Najla Chahda, for assisting the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon in safely repatriating the Filipinos from Syria to the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Embassy in Damascus vowed to continue and even further intensify its efforts to repatriate Filipinos from Syria with the invaluable support of the Embassy in Beirut in view of the worsening security situation there.

Another batch of 31 OFWs was also brought to Beirut from Damascus last September 11. They are due to arrive in Manila on September 13 at 10:55 a.m. on board Gulf Air flight GF 154.

Upon their arrival, the number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria will reach 4,772. Of that number, 1,750 were repatriated through Lebanon. END