DFA monitoring 300,000 Pinoys in Japan after massive quake

(Updated 7:42 p.m.) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday said they are still consolidating information on the condition of over 300,000 Filipinos in Japan, following an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit its northeast region. In a written report to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said they are exerting efforts to get in touch with Philippine Honorary Consulates in Sapporo, Morioka and Nagoya, and members of the Filipino community for initial reports of any injury or casualty. The DFA added that based on reports from officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, there is not much damage to the western and southern regions of Japan, and that the focus of attention of Japanese and Filipinos in their area is Sendai, Honshu in northeast Japan, which was most severely affected. In a separate report on GMA News TV’s On Call, DFA Undersecretary for Administration Rafael Seguis said there are over 1,000 Filipinos in the Miyagi prefecture, reported to be the closest to the epicenter. The Consulate added there are no reported injuries yet within their area. Consulate personnel reported experiencing the impact of the quake at their office on the 24th floor, but said they are safe and their office was not damaged. The DFA said there are 84,414 Filipino nationals in the western and southern regions of the country, while 224,558 Filipino nationals are in the central and northern regions of Japan. Altogether, there are a total of 305,972 Filipinos in Japan. The hotline numbers at the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs’ Crisis Management Center are 834-4646 and 834-4580. Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com. In a separate interview, Migrante-Japan coordinator Butch Pongos said there are about 10,000 to 20,000 Filipinos in northern Japan, most of whom are permanent residents married to Japanese nationals, as well as entertainers, trainees, and factory workers. Migrante called on Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez to immediately dispatch a team to northern Japan, especially Sendai following a massive tsunami that hit the coastal regions. GMA News Online has also set up a People Finder for Filipinos in Japan to help in keeping track of the Filipino community in the disaster-stricken areas of Japan. Pinay recounts jolt in Tokyo A Filipina who has been living in Tokyo for the last 20 years described the powerful earthquake and the aftershocks that followed Friday afternoon as "the worst" she ever experienced. Cristina, who is married to a Japanese working in the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo, said water overflowed from canals while mobile phone services were spotty after the quake. "Ito ang pinakamalala. Hindi ko malaman kung sino ang tatawagin kong panginoon [This is the worst I've ever experienced. I did not know which God to call on)," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said she joined many Tokyo residents in proceeding to a school turned into an evacuation center. Cristina said that when the first quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, everything in the house fell down. "Lahat na gamit namin sa bahay nabasag. Tinatawagan namin ang line, di makontak. Mga cell phone namin di makontak [All of our things in the house toppled over. We tried to use our phones but cell phone service was virtually useless]," she said.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News