DFA raises alert for Pinoys in Sri Lanka to Level 2; evacuation unnecessary

By JAMIL SANTOS, GMA News Amid security concerns, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that it has raised Alert Level 2 (restriction phase) for Filipinos in Sri Lanka. advertisement In an advisory, the DFA also reiterated that under Alert Level 2 there will be no new deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Sri Lanka, and only those with existing employment contracts are allowed to return to the country. Likewise it said that it is in constant coordination with the Filipino community in the island country in South Asia through the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka. Sri Lanka has been rocked by mass protests due to the ongoing economic crisis. However, the Philippine Embassy said there were no reports of Filipinos being injured in violent protests. On the other hand, the office of the Philippine Honorary Consul General in Colombo has vowed to provide assistance to Filipinos severely affected by the crisis. "The Department would like to emphasize that there are no plans yet to evacuate Filipinos from Sri Lanka at this time," the DFA said. It reminded Filipinos in Sri Lanka to remain in their residences as much as possible, avoid areas where protests are held, and refrain from joining mass actions for their safety and well-being. Sri Lanka's embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa flew out of his country early Wednesday, in a probable prelude to his resignation after months of widespread protests over the island nation's worst-ever economic crisis. Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives, telephoned the speaker of parliament saying that his resignation letter will be sent later in the day. "The president got in touch with me over the phone and said that he will ensure that his resignation letter will be received by me today," speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a video statement. Sri Lanka's anti-government demonstrators said Thursday they were ending their occupation of official buildings, as they vowed to press on with their bid to bring down the president and the prime minister. —LBG, GMA News Tags: Overseas Filipinos, ofws, sri lanka, Pinoy Abroad, news

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