Filipino repatriates from Syria breach 4,000-mark

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday, May 8, that the Philippine government has brought to safety 4,131 Filipinos from Syria since violence broke out in the Mideast country in March 2011. 

The official number included 120 Filipinos who were turned over by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus to the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on Wednesday.

The first batch of 40 repatriates will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Thursday, May 9, aboard Qatar Airways flight QR 646. The remaining 80 Filipinos will arrive on the same day in groups of 40 aboard Emirates Airlines flights EK 332 and EK 334.

The government has been in “full swing” to bring the approximately 3,000 Filipinos still in Syria to safety as the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate.  

The DFA continues to appeal to all Filipinos who are still in Syria to seek immediate repatriation. For assistance they may call the Embassy at +963-11-6132626, +963968955057, +963934957926, +963992264145, +963968953340, or +963958903893.

The next-of-kin of Filipinos in Syria may also provide the DFA with latest information regarding their relatives’ present location and contact details in Syria.

Those who wish to do so may call the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) at (02) 834-3240 or 834-4583 or the DFA’s 24-hour Action Center at (02) 834-3333. – Rappler.com