OFWs in northern Afghanistan appeal to Philippine gov't for repatriation

By JAMIL SANTOS, GMA News A group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday appealed to the Philippine government for repatriation a week after the militant group Taliban took over the war-torn country. Interviewed on Unang Hirit, Alfonso Dorado, an OFW staying in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, said the United Nations had a contingency plan for their repatriation, but no exact date was given. "Sa ngayon okay naman po, pero hindi kami nakakalabas. Wala naman po kaming naririnig na mga krimen sa labas, mga insidente, wala naman po," Dorado said. (Our situation is okay so far, although we could not go out. We don't hear crimes of outside nor any other incidents) Dorado added that Mazar-i-Sharif has almost become a ghost town following the Taliban takeover, but locals said some stores are open and there is still supply of food. "Marami pang puwedeng mangyari at anytime. Humihingi po kami ng tulong na kung puwede ang ahensiya ng gobyerno, kung may paraan na makuha kami rito sa Mazar, magawan po sana ng paraan," another OFW said. (There is much more that could happen at anytime. We are asking for help from government agencies, if there is a way for us to be repatriated from Mazar, we hope it could be worked out.) "Gusto namin ma-repatriate rito at mauwi na sa Pilipinas. 'Yun po ang hinihintay namin at ayaw naming mangyari na magiging rescue operation na," the OFW added. (We would like to be repatriated and return to the Philippines. That's what we're waiting for. We do not want the situation to become a rescue operation.) The Taliban seized control of the Afghan government this month 20 years after being ousted by American forces in 2001. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said 182 Filipinos have so far been airlifted out of Afghanistan. Twenty-seven Filipinos remained in Afghanistan as of Monday, but 10 of them said they would like to stay in the war-torn country. The DFA said the 10 Filipinos' decision not to leave the country is "work-related." The DFA said 17 have requested company or Philippine government evacuation. On the other hand, five Filipinos, who were rescued by the Indonesian military in Kabul, have already returned to Manila and are undergoing quarantine. Manila raised Alert Level 4, which calls for mandatory evacuation, for the whole of Afghanistan due to the uncertain security situation in the country. —KG, GMA News

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