MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is set to repatriate at least 63 Filipinos in conflict-stricken Haiti.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said that Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo approved the recommendation to declare the situation in Haiti as Alert Level 3.
Alert Level 3 means that Filipinos may voluntarily be repatriated to the Philippines, according to the DFA’s website.
This is only one level lower to Alert Level 4 which would mean that Filipinos in a certain country will be evacuated and mandatorily repatriated.
“The DFA, DMW, and OWWA are now looking to charter a flight for the 63 Filipinos since no flights are coming out of Haiti, and land travel to the capital Port-au-Prince is also discouraged,” the statement said.
It also said that there is no report yet of any Filipino affected or injured by the ongoing crisis in the Caribbean island-nation.
“The Philippine Embassy in Washington, led by Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babes” Romualdez, and the local DMW-Migrant Workers’ Office-OWWA are closely coordinating with the Philippine Honorary Consul General in Haiti, Fitzgerald Oliver James Brandt, and Filipino community leader Bernadette Villagracia regarding the planned repatriation of Filipinos in Haiti,” it added.