DFA ‘begging’ unaccounted Filipinos in Ukraine to reach out to embassy

Ukrainian servicemen are seen at a position on the front line with Russia-backed separatists near the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city of Lugansk, on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is appealing to Filipinos in Ukraine to reach out to Philippine officials there so they can be accounted for and given assistance if needed.

“For the rest of the Filipinos we are begging, we are asking them, please inform the embassy through their contact numbers of the honorary consulate in Kyiv (Ukraine’s capital) where you are so we know how to help you and how to reach out to you,” DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said in a Laging Handa briefing on Friday.

The DFA, she noted, has only accounted for 181 Filipinos in Ukraine.

Based on government records, there are 380 Filipino workers in Ukraine, overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac had said.

“Sa ganitong sitwasyon kailangan pong mag-reach out po sila sa ating embassy [In this situation, they need to reach out to our embassy,” Arriola went on, referring to the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, which has jurisdiction over Filipinos in Ukraine.

Six Filipinos have already been repatriated on Feb. 18 while 37 others are on their way to Ukraine’s western city of Lviv before entering Poland for their eventual return to the Philippines.

/MUF