THE Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said at least 156 Filipinos are ready to be repatriated from Sudan amid the continuing clashes between the military and a paramilitary unit there.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Jose De Vega said the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, which has concurrent jurisdiction over Sudan, has received messages from close to 700 Filipinos asking either to be repatriated to Manila or be relocated from Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum where most of the fighting are taking place.
He said 156 are ready to be repatriated to Manila anytime now.
De Vega, during the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday, said: “I just talked to Ambassador Ezzedine Tago and he told me the number of those who requested assistance from the embassy has reached 696, of which 156 are ready to depart. They have passports and other documents and are just awaiting the call from the embassy.”
De Vega said the number of Filipinos in the battle-scarred country could go even further, adding that most of them are undocumented and were enticed to work in Sudan due to the attractive compensation package.
“The number is increasing. Several years ago, OWWA told us the number of Filipinos there is around 2,000. However, the number has declined due to the situation, including the military coup in Sudan several years ago and the number has gone down to 256 but it has increased to 500 and now 696,” De Vega said.
De Vega said most are working as teachers and engineers although there are some employed as domestic household staff.
He said the repatriation could start within the next 24 hours depending on the situation on the ground.
“Within the next 24 hours we will have buses to evacuate our kababayan to Egypt,” he said.
He said the DFA, through the embassy in Cairo, has rented vehicles to transport Filipinos to Egypt, a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.
De Vega said there are two routes out of Sudan — either traveling to Port Sudan where there are vessels going to Saudi Arabia, or going to the border of Egypt where a team from the embassy would bring them to Aswan and from there fly them back to Manila.
“Not all our kababayan want to be repatriated to the Philippines. Some just want to be relocated from Khartoum,” he said.
De Vega said three Filipino women working with Saudi Airlines were evacuated Saturday from Khartoum by Saudi military forces.
The three were among 157 persons, including diplomats and officials, evacuated by Saudi naval forces assisted by other branches of the military.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier announced the repatriation of 157 people, including Filipinos. The others are from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Canada, and Burkina Faso.
“Our three kababayan were brought first to Port Sudan where they boarded a military vessel that evacuated them to King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah,” De Vega said.
He added they are also coordinating with other governments evacuating their citizens to safety if they could also include Filipinos.
Last Saturday, President Marcos Jr. said the government is readying assets that can be used to repatriate Filipinos from Sudan.
The DFA earlier said the Philippine Embassy in Cairo will send a team to Khartoum to assist in the evacuation of Filipinos from the strife-torn country.
The DFA also reported that a Filipino hit by a stray bullet has recovered.
Fighting between Army troops loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, started more than a week ago.
DMW MOVE
As part of the government’s efforts to evacuate Filipinos in Sudan, the DMW yesterday announced it is deploying two teams to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
In a radio interview, DMW Secretary Susan Ople said Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) head Arnel Ignacio are set to lead teams heading to the borders of the Northeast African nation.
“We will be setting up in the borders, where our countrymen will most likely be crossing over (from Sudan),” said Ople.
She said the DMW teams shall be in charge of providing essential aid to the evacuated OFWs.
“The DMW teams will be there to make sure that when the OFWs cross the borders, since many of them likely forgot their essential items, we will provide for them. They no longer have to think of having no clothes or money,” she said. “We will also set up temporary shelters in places recommended by the Embassy.”
Asked how soon OFWs in Sudan can be repatriated, she said efforts are ongoing.
“Hopefully, by tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday, there will be those that can already be flown home,” said Ople. — With Gerard Naval
