61 Filipinos to arrive from Syria Saturday

MANILA, Philippines—Sixty-one Filipinos from Syria are set to return to the Philippines Saturday in light of the escalating tensions in the Arab state, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Friday.

This will bring to 3,692 the total number of Filipinos who have returned home since Syria’s uprising began in March 2011 to topple President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule.

The 61 Filipinos are set to arrive in Manila at 9:15 a.m. Saturday on board Qatar Airways, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters in a press conference.

The Filipinos were brought by Syrian Embassy personnel to the Philippine Embassy of Lebanon in its capital Beirut on Thursday before they boarded a flight to Doha, Qatar on Friday.

While in Qatar, the Filipinos would be assisted by personnel from the Philippine Embassy there before they board the flight to Manila, Hernandez said.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues to urge all Filipinos who are still in Syria to seek immediate repatriation to avoid being caught in the escalating violence. For assistance, the Embassy in Damascus may be reached at 963-11-6132626,” the DFA said in a separate statement.

“The relatives of Filipinos in Syria may also provide the DFA with up-to-date information regarding their loved ones’ current location and contact details in Syria. Those who wish to do so may call the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) at (02)834-4583 or 834-3240 or the DFA’s 24-hour Action Center at (02) 834-3333,” it added.