DFA: Majority of Pinoys in Ukraine want to stay put in relatively safer areas

By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News Published February 28, 2022 1:10pm Majority of Filipinos in Ukraine are fleeing the areas where Russia's unprovoked assault is happening and are hopeful such offensive will end in two to three months, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday. DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola made the announcement in the aftermath of the trip of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to assist Filipinos wanting to leave Ukraine by entering via the border in Poland. "There were 13 Filipinos who were able to cross the border. Twelve adults, one baby. They are now in Warsaw, Poland, in a hotel, being assisted by our embassy. They already took the RT-PCR test and once they test negative, they will be able to go home [to the Philippines] tonight or tomorrow. They were also given $200 assistance," Arriola said during the Laging Handa briefing. "But we learned there are 33 people who left Kyiv and are in Lyiv, and there are those still leaving Kyiv to go to Lyiv, and they don't want to be repatriated. They want to wait it out [in Lyiv], so we are just in touch with them and stand ready to give assistance as needed. They think this [armed attack] will be over in two to three months," Arriola added. Arriola said Filipinos in Ukraine include household service workers, teachers, employed in international organizations and are married to Ukraine citizens. "Many of them don't want to be separated with their family members too, and they like the quality of life in Ukraine," Arriola said. "So rest assured we stand ready to be of assistance and give care packages to them," she added. Earlier in the day, six more Filipinos who evacuated Ukraine have managed to successfully evacuate to Moldova, the DFA said. "The evacuees include a fourth-year medical student at the Bukovinian State Medical University, two Filipino nationals married to Ukrainian nationals (one of whom traveled with her two-year old son), and two Filipinos working for an international organization managed to cross the Moldovan border," the DFA said. The Philippine Embassy in Budapest and the Philippine Consulate in Chisinau will make arrangements to bring four of the six Filipinos to Romania where they will take their repatriation flight to Manila. The DFA said Filipinos who need repatriation assistance near the borders of Moldova and Romania are advised to coordinate with the Philippine Embassy in Budapest. — RSJ, GMA News

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