43 Pinoys Returned from Syria

Forty-three Filipinos returned home from the strife-torn Syria at 11 pm on Tuesday with the aid of the Philippine government and the International Organization for Migration.

Authorities said the 43 Filipinos availed of the mandatory repatriation program. With their arrival, the number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria has already reached 4,553, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

DFA said the 43 Pinoys crossed the Syrian-Lebanese border with the assistance of Philippine Embassy personnel.It added that 1,545 Filipinos have been repatriated from Syria through Lebanon thru cross-border repatriation operations since December 2012.

Authorities said the representatives of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut met the Filipinos at the Masna’a border crossing. Last Aug. 21, the Philippine embassy helped repatriate 53 Filipinos from Syria.

In both cases, the IOM provided for the Filipinos’ plane tickets and meals during their journey home.

Meanwhile, the DFA reiterated its appeal to Filipinos still in Syria to seek immediate repatriation “as the security situation in the country worsens.”

The DFA said they can call the embassy at 963-11-6132626, +963-96-8955057, +963-93-4957926, +963-99-2264145, +963-96-8953340, or +963-95-8903893.

Also, the DFA asked the families of Filipinos in Syria to provide it with recent information regarding their kin’s present location and contact details in Syria.

They may contact 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, Gma news reported.

Source: gma news tv