More than a hundred Filipino nationals have been taken out of harm’s way amid the Ukraine-Russia war, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported Wednesday.
In a Laging Handa briefing, Foreign Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said 63 Filipinos had been repatriated and more were expected to arrive March 9 and the coming days.
At least 136, on the other hand, are waiting for their repatriation from different European nations after crossing Ukrainian borders.
Prior to DFA’s first batch of repatriates, there were an estimated 380 Filipinos living and working in Ukraine.
Arriola said “a little over a hundred” land-based overseas Filipinos are still inside the war-torn country and are reluctant to go home.
As for the seafarers, the DFA is coordinating with their local manning agencies and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to facilitate their evacuation.
In the meantime, Arriola advised them to hunker down and take cover, especially when shelling is intense and evacuation is not possible.
“If that is the case, we have been advised by our security sector that you have to hunker down and take cover and wait until the firing subsides. You should not take the risk and leave your ships,” she said in Filipinos,
Arriola said most of the land-based Filipinos in Ukraine are in Lviv and Kyiv while the seafarers are in the Black Sea onboard their merchant ships.
On Tuesday, the 21 Filipino crew members of MV S Breeze safely arrived in the Philippines after their rescue from Odessa, Ukraine to Moldova early this month. Also included among the 63 repatriates are seafarers from the MV Joseph Schulte.
“As for seafarers, we are closely monitoring with the POEA. We are receiving several calls for evacuation and we are helping them… We’re expecting more to arrive today and the following days,” Arriola said.