70 Pinoys in Haiti to be repatriated

MANILA, Philippines - The Haiti Earthquake Crisis Management Team approved yesterday a plan to repatriate around 70 Filipinos starting today, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo said the 70 Filipinos, many of them women and children, will be transported by bus for the seven-hour ride to Santo Domingo in nearby Dominican Republic. They will fly out of the Santiago International Airport in Santo Domingo in three batches. 

The first batch of 16 Filipinos will leave tomorrow for Los Angeles via Miami and from there take a Philippine Airlines flight to Manila; a second batch of 33 will leave on Thursday straight to Los Angeles; and a third batch of 21 Filipinos leaves for Los Angeles via Miami.

The 70 Filipinos are expected to arrive in Manila on Friday and Saturday.

The repatriation expenses are being shouldered by the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Earlier, the government task force confirmed that a total of 217 Filipinos were safe and many are housed in four evacuations centers after an earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12.