The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said 13 Filipinos from crisis-hit Sri Lanka have returned to the Philippines on Saturday while more are expected to arrive in the coming days.
They are the first batch of the 114 Filipinos who signed up for government-assisted repatriation service while the department is eyeing to repatriate all 114 individuals by the second week of August.
“The DFA continues to assist all distressed Filipinos overseas, including undocumented contract workers,” Foreign Affairs Acting Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said.
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The first batch of Filipinos reportedly arrived on Saturday and the DFA is eyeing to repatriate all 114 individuals by the second week of August.
Officials from the department’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) welcomed six female individuals, two males, and five minors when they arrived in Manila as Sri Lanka faces economic crisis with reports of food, fuel, and medicine shortages going on for months.
Protesters ousted Gotabaya Rajapaska from the presidency earlier this month and lawmakers have since voted in six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
