1,300 Filipino workers in Syria want to come home

MANILA, Philippines – At least 1,300 Filipino workers in Syria have expressed willingness to be repatriated from the strife-torn Middle East country, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

The 20 Overseas Filipino Workers mostly women repatriated from Syria arrives at the NAIA Terminal 2 in Pasay City Thursday evening. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, the DFA said the workers’ repatriation papers were being processed by the mission.

“At least 130 of the would-be repatriates are sheltered at the embassy’s halfway quarters in Damascus,” said the foreign office.

Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesman, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Charge d’Affaires Olivia Palala was “doing everything to implement the government’s mandatory repatriation program, which calls for the immediate evacuation of Philippine nationals in Syria due to the worsening security situation in many parts of that country.”

So far, the DFA has repatriated a total of 1,734 Philippine nationals from Syria.

On Monday, an additional 27 OFWs were scheduled to be brought home by the government. Ten more are to be evacuated on Tuesday.

The embassy is “sustaining its efforts to repatriate more Filipinos as violence continues in Syria,” said the foreign office.