Pinoys in Belgium told: Avoid public, crowded areas for now

MANILA — The Philippine Embassy in Brussels advised Filipinos in Belgium, on Tuesday, to heed advisories of local authorities following the explosions at the Brussels Airport and the Maalbeek metro station.

In an advisory, the embassy urged members of the Filipino community in Belgium to stay vigilant and exercise caution in line with the current Alert Level 4 that has been declared by the Belgian authorities.

As the Embassy monitored the situation in Brussels, Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Victoria Bataclan advised the Filipinos to avoid visiting public and crowded places like malls and recreation centers. She also advised the Filipino community to keep calm and monitor news for updates themselves.

“Stay where you are if you do not necessarily need to travel to and from Belgium, and spread caution around,” Ambassador Bataclan said in a statement.

The Embassy of the Philippines in Brussels expressed its condolences to the families of the victims in the explosions.

“The Brussels Airport has also set up a hotline for families and friends of passengers, which can be reached at +32 27537300,” the embassy said.

The Philippine embassy released contact details for those seeking information about Filipino nationals affected by these events: its duty phone number +32 488609177, Ambassador Bataclan’s mobile phone number +32 471309430, landline numbers +32 23403377 or 93, its Facebook page, and email addresses [email protected] and[email protected]. SFM