No Filipinos requesting to flee crisis-hit Sri Lanka yet – DFA

Department of Foreign Affairs building. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to receive any request for repatriation among Filipinos in Sri Lanka as the said country faces an economic crisis and unrest.

According to the DFA, it is in touch with the Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Colombo as well as the Filipino community in Sri Lanka through the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka regarding the situation of overseas Filipino workers in the crisis-hit country.

Based on DFA data, there are 581 Filipinos in Sri Lanka as of January 2022.

“All parties are monitoring if any Filipino worker in Sri Lanka will request repatriation. So far, both the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka and the Honorary Consulate in Colombo have not received any such request,” the DFA said in a statement on Tuesday.

“For now, most of the OFWs are still able to continue their employment despite the ongoing crisis,” it added.

Nevertheless, the DFA assured it stands ready to repatriate Filipinos from Sri Lanka.

“Should circumstances necessitate the return to the Philippines of OFWs, this will be coordinated by all concerned agencies, led by the DFA and DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment),” the department said.

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