The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reported that rental price of evacuation buses in Sudan rose as much as US$30,000 each to cater Filipinos who seek repatriation to Egypt.
In an interview with Teleradyo, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said the price to rent a bus in Sudan is now getting “expensive” as Khartoum, its capital city, is becoming a “war zone” for military and paramilitary forces.
According to a report from the Manila Bulletin on Thursday: “Evacuees would be arriving onboard the seven buses that were newly contracted by the Philippine Embassy in Egypt. Once in Egypt, they will travel by land to the Egyptian city of Aswan before flying to the capital, Cairo, and to the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Unang Balita, Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago noted that Filipino evacuees will be given assistance with or without the necessary visa, while those who do not have their passport or legal documents will have to wait a little longer to enter Egypt.
Honored to welcome #filipinos who crossed the border from #sudan to #Egypt pic.twitter.com/abMeNXYbI6
— Ezzedin Tago 🇵🇭🇪🇬🇩🇯 🇸🇩 (@ezzedin_tago) April 27, 2023
Initially, rental buses only cost US$8,000, as per Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople.
