Syria to get new PH envoy

MANILA, Philippines—Amid its efforts to repatriate Filipinos from war-torn Syria, the Philippine government is sending a new ambassador to the troubled country, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said Ambassador Nestor Padalhin will take over the Philippine Embassy in Damascus.

Padalhin, chief of mission class I, was the ambassador to Nigeria before his transfer to Syria.

To date, more than a thousand overseas Filipino workers in Syria have been flown back to the Philippines.

The DFA has raised crisis alert level 4 in Syria, which calls for the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos.

Meanwhile, Hernandez announced the nomination by President Aquino of five other career officers as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (AEP). They are:

Benito Valeriano to India, Alex Lamadrid to Nigeria, Olivia Palala to Jordan, Oscar Orcine to Libya, and Alejandro Mosquera to Russia.