13 Pinoys repatriated from Sri Lanka

The first batch of Filipinos repatriated from Sri Lanka arrived in the country on Saturday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The 13 distressed Filipinos from Sri Lanka are composed of six females, two males and five minors. They are part of the 114 Filipinos who signified their desire to return to the Philippines because of the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, together with the Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh, (which has jurisdiction over Sri Lanka) and the Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Colombo, have been monitoring the situation and alleviating the concerns of Filipinos in Sri Lanka, the DFA said. It added that the distribution of financial assistance is currently underway. The 13 Filipinos, whose return tickets were funded by the DFA, arrived aboard a commercial flight from Colombo. The DFA said more Filipinos from Sri Lanka are expected to arrive in the next few days, adding that it intends to complete the repatriation of 114 Filipinos by the second week of August. The DFA has placed Sri Lanka under alert level 2 due to the security situation in the country because of economic and political turmoil.

—TINA G. SANTOS