The Department of Health revealed Wednesday that there are about 100 Filipino crew members in the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who refused to join the government’s repatriation plans.
“Hindi naman daw lahat gusto magpa-repatriate. May gusto manatili na lang kasi baka mawalan ng trabaho,” Inquirer told Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
“Rerespetuhin natin ‘yung kanilang desisyon,” Duque added.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay told CNN Philippines that the repatriation will be voluntary.
“Our latest survey from the crew was 401 want to come back, 100 plus more or less to remain so not all crew members want to the Philippines. This is not an ordinary repatriation,” Dulay said.
There are 41 Filipinos infected by the coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in the cruise ship, according to the Department of Health on Wednesday.
