DFA offers to repatriate Pinoys in Nicaragua amid civil unrest


The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday offered to help Filipinos in Nicaragua who want to go home amid the ongoing civil unrest there that has already resulted in deaths.
"We would like to assure our kababayan in Nicaragua that we are ready to fly them home anytime," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.
There are only 86 Filipinos in Nicaragua, according to the DFA. None of them has so far been affected by the unrest.
Cayetano said three Filipinos have already availed of the DFA's voluntary repatriation offer. They were flown out of Managua on July 8 and arrived in Manila on July 10.
A Reuters report said at least 275 people have been killed in Nicaragua since protests erupted in April over a plan by the administration of President Daniel Ortega to trim pension benefits. The government’s heavy-handed response sparked a wider protest against Ortega’s rule.
Ortega is a former Marxist guerrilla leader who has held elected office since 2007 and also ruled the country from 1979 to 1990.
Cayetano said the Philippine Embassy in Mexico under Ambassador Demetrio Tuason is monitoring the situation in the Central American nation.
Tuason had earlier dispatched a team to Managua to assess the situation on the ground.
The team, led by Consul Ma. Carmela Teresa Cabrera, met with members of the Filipino community and assured them of the government’s concern for their safety and well-being. —KBK, GMA News

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