More Pinoys evacuated from Yemen, 60 due home Thursday

At least 60 more Filipinos are set to return from Yemen on Thursday afternoon, while another batch was evacuated from the strife-torn country Wednesday.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said a group of 21 traveled from Sanaa and was expected to cross the Yemeni-Saudi border by Wednesday afternoon.

"By (the) end of (Wednesday), the Philippine government would have evacuated a total of 538 Filipinos from Yemen," it said in a statement.

Leading the efforts were Philippine consul Winston Almeda and Honorary Consul Mohamad Al-Jamal.

The embassy said that as of April 13, 517 Filipinos had already been evacuated from Yemen. This included five evacuated by the Pakistan Navy.

60 to return to PHL

Meanwhile, the embassy said another 60 evacuees were set to leave Wednesday aboard FlyNas and Cebu Pacific. They are to arrive in Manila 3:40 p.m. Thursday.

"Today’s flight will bring the total of number of Filipinos repatriated to 401," it said.

More Filipinos are to leave Friday and Saturday aboard Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines flights from Riyadh.

As of Monday, 341 Filipinos have been repatriated to the Philippines from Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government urged anew all those in Yemen to contact the Philippine Embassy’s Crisis Management Team in Sanaa to arrange for their evacuation from Yemen.

Nice to be back

Meanwhile, 80 Filipinos, including two children, arrived home from Yemen on April 14, 2015 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 655 at 9:15 A.M.

A news release from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said the returning workers were visibly happy upon arrival at the airport despite the 10-hour travel.

“Natakot po kami sa air strike na baka tumama sa mga bahay o buildings kaya nagdesisyon na kami umuwi,” the release quoted a repatriate as saying.

It said when asked if he has any plan to go back to Yemen when the situation there stabilizes, or to another country where his skills are needed, the repatriate, who worked for 20 y ears as a supervisor in Yemen, said, “Hindi muna, pahinga muna ako. Nakakasawa rin naman magtagal doon.”

The returnees availed of the Philippine government’s Mandatory Repatriation Program. Alert Level 4 was raised in February 2015 when the strife in the said country escalated, exposing the lives of Filipin workers there to danger.

On April 13, 20 Filipino repatriates from Yemen were extended airport assistance by the OWWA Repatriation Team. Upon arrival at the airport, the workers were accorded airport assistance that include special lane in processing of immigration papers.

Some of the OFWs are now temporarily housed at the OWWA Halfway Home before they return to their respective provinces. Most of those who are in OWWA are from the Visayas and Mindanao.

At the airport, the repatriates were briefed on the government programs and services to cushion the impact of their sudden job displacement resulting from the political conflict in Yemen. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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