DFA: Filipinos injured in Beirut blast now at 47

By: Neil Arwin Mercado - Reporter / @NAMercadoINQINQUIRER.net / 12:53 PM August 10, 2020 An aerial view shows the damaged flats of a building in a Beirut neighbourhood, days after a huge chemical explosion hit the nearby port, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital and claiming over 150 lives. (Photo by - / AFP) An aerial view shows the damaged flats of a building in a Beirut neighbourhood, days after a huge chemical explosion hit the nearby port, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital and claiming over 150 lives. (Photo by – / AFP) MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who sustained injuries following the powerful explosion in Beirut, Lebanon has reached 47, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Monday. This came after the DFA reported five additional Filipino nationals who were injured due to the blast. “We are still thankful that the injuries sustained by our kababayans are not life-threatening. We also thank our Embassy personnel for taking prompt action,” Undersecretary Sarah Lou Y. Arriola said in a statement. DFA said it is preparing the repatriation of the remains of the four Filipinos who died in the blast, while a chartered flight will also be available to repatriate some 400 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who wish to return home. Arriola said the cost of the repatriation of the OFWs will be shouldered by the government. There are approximately 33,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, 75 percent of them in the Greater Beirut area. The powerful explosion in Lebanon’s capital city were believed to be caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been stockpiled in a warehouse ever since it was confiscated from an impounded cargo ship in 2013.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more