Repatriated Filipinos from crisis-torn Ukraine have reached 225, with the latest batch arriving on Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Foreign Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said there are still about 98 Filipinos outside of Ukraine awaiting repatriation while “a little over a hundred” chose to stay in the country because of work or marriage to locals.
Arriola also reported some Filipino seafarers were still stranded in the eastern European country because of the conflict.
“They are having a hard time evacuating because of the intense fighting where they are located,” she said.
While the fighting has not reached the capital city of Kyiv, the DFA official appealed to Filipinos there to avail themselves of the repatriation services offered by the Philippine government.
“We are really appealing to them to leave while it is not yet needed to ask for a humanitarian corridor,” Arriola added.