RP to fetch 4th batch of stranded Pinoys in Thailand – DFA

MANILA, Philippines - A fourth batch of stranded Filipino workers in Thailand is expected to be fetched home by the Philippine government tomorrow, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday evening.

DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal told GMANews.TV that a Cebu Pacific flight will be sent to the Utapao military base in Thailand where an estimated 180 Filipinos would be waiting.

Cristobal said the exact number of Filipinos in the military base would only be known “when they actually have flown out with the passengers." The Philipppine Embassy in Bangkok would facilitate the land transportation of the Filipinos from Thailand's capital city to Utapao.

As of Tuesday morning, a total of 580 stranded Filipinos have returned to the country on board two separate flights. A Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight that left Manila on Tuesday afternoon is set to fetch another 180 Filipinos in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai.

It is unclear exactly how many Filipinos remain stranded in Thailand, which was disturbed by massive civil unrest since last week.

The Filipinos and other nationals were stranded in Bangkok since Nov. 24 after Thai protesters took over Suvarnabhumi Airport in an effort to halt the return of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom they accuse of being the puppet of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra. Somchai was returning from Peru, where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum summit.

Anti-government protesters reinforced their siege of Bangkok's two airports Monday as the politically paralyzed country struggled with more than 300,000 stranded travelers. - GMANews.TV

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