Palace: Funds for repatriation of Pinoys in Syria enough

Malacañang on Saturday reassured Filipinos in Syria there are enough funds to bring them home to the Philippines, amid the continued threat of violence there. But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Malacañang will have to look into reports that some employers are charging fees from Filipino workers before allowing them to go. “There are available and sufficient funds for repatriation... We urge [Filipinos there] to contact the embassy. We’re ready, willing and able, lalo na ang ating foreign post officials," she said on government-run dzRB radio. But Valte said: “We will have to check those reports kung talagang sinisingil sila. The Philippine embassy is ready to assist them and meron tayong contact numbers kung paano matatawagan ang ating embahada." Last Thursday, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippine embassy is in the process of helping some 60 Filipino workers to return home. “The embassy in Damascus is taking care of details such as settling with employers who want to be paid back the deployment cost, along with immigration fees and other documents," Hernandez had said in an interview on dwIZ radio last Thursday. “The Philippine Embassy in Damascus must work with the employers and the Syrian government for the OFWs’ exit clearance," he said. — LBG, GMA News