Mahigpit na binabantayan ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ang lagay ng mga Filipino sa Ukraine.
Kasunod ito ng tumitinding tensyon sa pagitan ng Ukraine at Russia.
Sinabi ng DFA na may ilang 181 na Filipino sa Ukraine, na karamihan ay nasa Kyiv.
“Our Embassy in Warsaw placed great efforts in counting and accounting for every kababayan,” saad ng kagawaran.
Maliban sa weekly meetings kasama ang Filipino community sa Ukraine, nagpadala na ang embahada ng team sa Lviv noong February 17, 2022.
Dagdag nito, “From Lviv in the west, and Kyiv right at the heart of Ukraine, through our Philippine Honorary Consulate General, the DFA is managing the repatriation of our nationals.”
Six (6) of our kababayans arrived last 18 February. As we speak, four (4) who arranged for voluntary repatriation are to depart today, 24 February 2022, from Kyiv. We expect them to arrive tomorrow here in Manila and we will be at the airport to welcome them home.
Siniguro ng DFA na prayoridad ng kagawaran ang kaligtasan at agarang pagpapauwi sa mga Filipino sa nasabing bansa.
“These efforts are a product of close coordination between our Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Kyiv, our Embassy Team in Lviv, the Embassy in Warsaw, and the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA). Their repatriation is also funded by the Department’s Assistance to Nationals fund,” pahayag nito.
Naka-standby na rin ang Foreign Service Posts sa Warsaw, Budapest, at Moscow, at maging sa nalalabing European Posts.
Sa ngayon, hinikayat ang mga Filipino sa Ukraine na huwag mag-panic ngunit manatiling mapagmatyag at patuloy na makipag-ugnayan sa Philippine Embassy Team sa Lviv o Consulate General sa Kyiv sakaling mangailangan ng anumang tulong.
“We also wish to assure our kababayans that the DFA will maintain its presence in Lviv in support of the Consulate General in Kyiv as long as there is a clear and present need. Rest assured that your DFA is always working for and because of you,” pagtitiyak nito.