23 September 2013 – Twenty-eight (28) Filipinos from Syria were repatriated to the Philippines through Lebanon on September 19. They left Beirut via the Rafik Hariri International Airport at 1:40 p.m. (Beirut time) on board Gulf Air flight GF 910.
This batch of Filipino nationals crossed the borders of Syria and Lebanon in the afternoon of 18 September 2013. The group was received at the Masna’a border by Vice Consul Dennis John Briones and Information Officer Edwin Batallones of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, with the assistance of Caritas staff Jeanne D’Arc Hobeika. After being granted transit visas by the Lebanese immigration authorities, the 28 Filipinos entered Lebanese territory and were brought directly to the Embassy.
They stayed overnight at the Embassy where they were provided with hot meals, which included dinner and breakfast prepared by the Embassy’s Finance officer Dorotea Apostol and Consular staff Melissa Mancenido. Several Embassy personnel, including Cultural Officer Galdys Perey, assistance-to-nationals (ATN) officer Dexter Macaraeg, Collecting Officer Lilia Pangilinan, Property Officer/Administrative Assistant Ma. Chloe Silverio, Protocol officer Antonio Cruz and Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center (MWOFRC) Houseparent Gina Murillo took turns to look after them during their overnight stay in the Embassy. Before leaving for the airport the next day, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz spent time with the repatriates and wished them a happy and safe trip back to their families in the Philippines.
At exactly 10:00 a.m., Vice Consul Briones and ATN officer Juanid Ali escorted the repatriates on their way to the airport and assisted the group undergo formalities at the Rafik Hariri International Airport. At 1:40 p.m., all of the 28 Filipinos boarded their flight to Manila via Manama, Bahrain. They arrived in Manila on September 20 at 10:55 a.m. on board GF 154.
To date, a total of 4,821 Filipinos have been brought home from Syria. Of this number, 1,799 were repatriated via the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut since the first cross-border operations jointly undertaken by the Philippine Embassies in Syria and Lebanon began in December 2012. END