The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to extend its help to returning Overseas Filipinos (OF) from conflict-ridden Sudan, according to information provided by the Philippine News Agency.
Eight Filipinos, who escaped from Khartoum, Sudan, arrived in Greece via a Greek military plane. Philippine Ambassador to Greece Giovanni Palec welcomed the evacuees who are expected to reach the Philippines at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez, DSWD spokesperson, stated that the Field Office-NCR and the DSWD’s Program Management Bureau (PMB) are the lead agencies to aid the returning OFs. Lopez added that social workers from DSWD’s National Capital Region Field Office are currently stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, waiting for the arrival of the eight Filipino repatriates via Qatar Airways Flight No. QR 204.
Lopez further said, “If there is a requirement for temporary shelter, we will bring them to the Mandaluyong office of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that more than 300 Filipinos have been safely evacuated from Sudan in the last 12 hours, with the number of Filipinos who have fled Khartoum reaching 496.
