DFA: 395 Pinoys want to be repatriated from Syria

Some 395 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have expressed their desire to be repatriated from Syria to the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez also said the Philippine Embassy in Damascus has already processed the exit visas of 108 workers. "In Syria, to date, 395 OFWs have expressed their desire to come home and avail of voluntary repatriation of the Philippine government," he said at a briefing Friday. He said Philippine officials in Syria will continue to inform the Filipinos there about the voluntary repatriation. He explained, however, that there is still no need to raise the crisis alert level there, at least for now. "Alert Level 3 is still in place," he said. Under Alert Level 3, the government encourages voluntary repatriation. Alert Level 4 entails mandatory evacuation and repatriation. "We are still convincing our people to come home and avail of voluntary repatriation being offered by the government," Hernandez said. Earlier, the DFA indicated there were some 17,000 OFWs in Syria. — LBG/VVP, GMA News