PHL, ASEAN embassies map evacuation plans in Yemen

Philippine diplomats have joined their Southeast Asian counterparts in Yemen in mapping out out possible evacuation plans as the political unrest there continues. Consul General to Dubai Benito Valeriano said he will be in Yemen for a week to assess the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipinas married to Yemenis. Valeriano left for Yemen April 1 to assume temporarily the senior post and to assess the situation of Filipinos there, the news site Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday. Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila raised the alert level in Yemen from Level 1 (heightened alertness) to Level 2 (restriction of movements). So far, Valeriano said no Filipino expatriate has left Yemen although the DFA already called them to depart voluntarily from the country due to mounting tensions. Some 1,400 Filipino expatriates are residing and working in Yemen, particularly in Sanaa and Aden. Other nationalities Indonesian Ambassador Wahid Supriyadi said Indonesians in Yemen have already been alerted to proceed to their embassy in Sanaa immediately for evacuation if the situation gets worse. “We have very few workers in Yemen. Our expatriates there are mainly students," he said. Indonesians in Yemen can be found in Sanaa, Hudaidah, Aden, and Sa‘ada. There are 3,259 Indonesian nationals in Yemen, including 1,700 students taking up Islamic Studies and mostly studying in Mukalla, some 754 kilometers (km) northeast of Sanaa, and Tarim, both in Hadramaut Province. Lely Meiliani, Indonesian First Secretary for Information and Cultural Affairs in Abu Dhabi, said 39 workers of three oil and gas companies in Yemen, comprising 29 from Medco, seven from Galo and three from Total Company volunteered to leave the country. “They took an Emirates flight to Dubai from there and proceeded to Jakarta. We still have 476 students in Sanaa University, 76 of whom are female, and 62 students at Al Aidros Institute in Aden City. Most of our students have already left Yemen," Meiliani said. – VVP, GMA News