More OFWs Arrive from Strife-torn Syria

Another group of 25 Filipino workers have fled the armed conflict in Syria, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

The workers, who availed of the government’s mandatory repatriation program (MRP) being enforced by Manila on the conflict-stricken Middle East state, will arrive in Manila in the afternoon of September 16.

“They previously worked and resided in Aleppo and Damascus before deciding to avail of the MRP and sought shelter at the Philippine Embassy in Damascus’ halfway Quarters,” a DFA statement said.

Philippine officials in capital Damascus have already requested the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates to issue exit visas for the returning Filipinos, it said.

The International Organization for Migration in Damascus shouldered the airfare of the 25 workers.

Escorted by officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy, the Filipinos will travel by land from Damascus to Lebanon’s Masna’a border where they will be met and assisted by officers and staff from the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, where they will take their onward flight to Manila.

The Filipinos will undergo medical check-up and pre-departure briefing prior to their travel to Manila, the DFA said.

A total 5,697 Filipinos have been repatriated from Syria since the unrest started in 2011. Of this figure, 2,650 were repatriated through Lebanon.

The Philippine goverment is enforcing a travel ban for Syria and has urged the remaining Filipinos there to return home.

“The Philippine embassy in Damascus spares no effort in convincing Filipinos to avail of this repatriation program,” the DFA said as it urged relatives of Filipinos still in Syria to provide information of their family member’s whereabouts or last known contact details in Syria so that immediate assistance can be extended to them. (PNA) CTB/MDC/SSC