27 September 2013 – The Philippine Embassies in Damascus and Beirut, with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), collaborated once again resulting in the successful repatriation to the Philippines via Lebanon of a group of 36 Filipinos from Syria. This was the 34th cross-border operation undertaken by the two Embassies. This batch of repatriates arrived in Manila on September 26 at 11:05 p.m. on board Qatar Airways flight QR 644.
The IOM shouldered the airfare of this batch, as well as the cost of their meals.
In the morning of September 25, Vice Consul Dennis John Briones and assistance-to-nationals (ATN) officer Junaid Ali of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut proceeded to the Lebanese immigration at the Masna’a border, where they were joined by IOM-Lebanon personnel in receiving the 36 Filipinos from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus and IOM-Damascus, and assisting them in their entry into Lebanon.
After clearing the Lebanese immigration at the Masna’a border in the afternoon, Vice Consul Briones and ATN officer Ali escorted the group all the way to the Embassy in Beirut, where they spent a few hours to rest in preparation for their flight to the Philippines. A shelter team composed of Consular Assistant Armando Dimaranan and Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center (MWOFRC) Houseparent Gina Murillo took care of the repatriates upon their arrival.
Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz also welcomed them and assured them that the Philippine Embassy, Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Pverseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) officers and staff in Lebanon were glad to be part of the Philippine Government efforts to ensure that Filipinos in Syria are able to return and be reunited with their families in the Philippines.
At 9:30 p.m. on September 25, the repatriates were brought to the airport to catch their post-midnight departure flight to the Philippines via Doha, Qatar. Vice Consul Rona Beth Goce and Protocol Officer Antonio Cruz assisted the repatriates undergo airline and immigration procedures at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.
With the group’s arrival, the total number of repatriates from Syria has reached 4,858. Of this number, 1,835 were repatriated via the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut since the Philippine Embassies in Damascus and Beirut began their cross-border operations on 12 December 2012. END