(UPDATE) Phl raises level 4 alert over Egypt crisis

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised the crisis alert in Egypt to level 4, the highest warning in its four-tier emergency advisory system, DFA said today.

Crisis Alert Level 4 means that mandatory repatriation will be implemented at government expense.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who is visiting Cairo for the second time in two weeks for assessing the security situation of Filipinos, said that the marked deterioration of peace and order in Egypt, exacerbated by the ongoing political instability and grave security challenges, made working and living there increasingly difficult and dangerous.

A Rapid Response Team (RRT) arrived in Cairo on Saturday to assist in the implementation of the repatriation program, DFA said.

A Filipino-Egyptian teenager was hit by a stray bullet during clashes near her home in Helwan, south of Cairo, last Wednesday.  

There are about 6,000 Filipinos living in Egypt, many of whom are household service workers and skilled employees based in Cairo and Alexandria.