Nine Filipino families in quake-hit Turkey to return to PH

FILE PHOTO: A general view of destroyed apartment in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopezh

MANILA, Philippines — Nine Filipino families in Turkey will be repatriated to the Philippines following the destructive earthquake there, the Philippine Embassy in Ankara said Monday.

The families were the first batch of eligible Filipino citizens to return to Manila. They left Turkey’s capital on Sunday, February 26 (Turkey time).

“Nine Filipino families are on their way back to the motherland to be greeted by the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs)-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, before traveling to their respective home provinces,” the Philippine embassy said in a statement.

Other repatriation efforts are being arranged for the following days, it added.

Currently, the embassy shelter is housing 27 more families affected by the deadly earthquake.

“The Embassy continues to address the concerns of our shelterees, including extending their stay at the shelter as well as finding the appropriate housing and financial programs and other services offered by the Turkish government and non-government organizations,” it said.

“The Filipino community is an ever-flowing well-spring of support, providing non-traditional assistance such as taking our youngest shelterees on a field trip to the Joyland amusement park,” the embassy added.

Meanwhile, DFA and the Department of Migrant Workers gave financial aid to 77 overseas Filipinos who were also in Turkey. Relief goods were likewise provided to Filipinos affected by the massive tremor.

The embassy further reported that it ended its second relief and evacuation mission in Adana, Hatay, and Mersin provinces.

Early this month, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Turkey and Syria and left at least 46,000 people dead.

READ: IN PHOTOS: The powerful quake that struck Syria and Turkey

KGA