4 repatriated OFWs arrive from Ukraine

MANILA, Philippines — Four of six overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who asked to be repatriated from Ukraine arrived Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

The remaining two, who took their flight from a different Ukrainian city, are expected in the Philippines this week.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine embassy in Warsaw, Poland provided funding assistance to the six Filipinos. Four of them, one with a baby, boarded a Turkish Airlines flight from the capital Kyiv and two from Lviv.

In a statement, the DFA said it continues to monitor the situation in Ukraine’s borders while the Philippine embassy in Poland remains in touch with the Filipino community inside the country. About 380 Filipinos are said to be in Ukraine.

Those who need repatriation assistance are advised to contact the Philippine embassy in Poland through email [email protected], the emergency mobile number +48 604 357 396 and the office mobile number +48 694 491 663.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Hans Cacdac and several DFA representatives welcomed Nueva Ecija native Danyil Masli and her 19-month-old baby as well as the three other OFWs at the airport.

The OFWs said they decided to come back to the Philippines as the threat of a Russian invasion continues to heat up in Ukraine. They described the situation as appearing to be uncontrollable.

More than 300 other OFWs, they added, are waiting for an advisory from the DFA if immediate repatriation is needed.

“We are urging all Filipinos in Ukraine to contact the Philippine embassy in Warsaw and the Philippine honorary consulate general in Kyiv if they would like to request for repatriation assistance from Ukraine,” said Philippine ambassador to Poland Leah Ruiz.

The Philippine embassy in Warsaw is coordinating closely with the Philippine honorary consulate general in Kyiv and the consulate general in Istanbul to facilitate the repatriations to ensure that assistance is given at all transit points.

Cacdac said OWWA would provide a “pangkabuhayan package” should the OFWs decide to put up a small business in the country while waiting for the situation in Ukraine to improve.

Meanwhile, the Philippine consulate general in Macau repatriated 203 Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest repatriation flight last Feb. 16 was the 27th organized by the consulate, bringing the total number of repatriates to 5,355 since the start of the pandemic.

Philippine consul general to Macau Porfirio Mayo Jr. reiterated the consulate’s commitment to continue with its repatriation program until regular commercial flights to the Philippines resume.

Under latest guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, all fully vaccinated Filipino nationals arriving from abroad are no longer required to observe mandatory facility-based quarantine, subject to compliance with conditions set by the national government.–  Janvic Mateo