33 OFWs evacuated from Georgia

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said that 33 out of 80 overseas Filipino workers in Georgia have started to evacuate to Azerbaijan.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said that the 33 Filipino workers of Annel Construction in Tbilisi, Georgia were now en route to neighboring Azerbaijan.

The evacuees will stay there until their employer decides whether to repatriate them back to the Philippines or order them to return to their work in Georgia after the hostilities are over.

Conejos said the remaining 47 OFWs have yet to decide if they would evacuate or not but just the same, they have been issued entry visas to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Philippine embassy in Turkey, which has jurisdiction over Georgia, reported that 20 of the OFWs are employed by ICTSI port services located in Batumi near the Black Sea while the group of 27 Filipino workers in Tbilisi is working for another big construction firm.

“All the Filipino workers are safe and are preparing for possible evacuation. They have been issued entry visas to Turkey and Azerbaijan so they are ready to go if a decision is made,” Conejos said in a press briefing.

“The decision on when and where to go and how they will do it will depend on the employers of the workers since they are responsible for their safety,” he added.

Conejos said the embassy has been coordinating with Russian and Georgian authorities to ensure the safe passage of Filipinos when they move out of Georgia.

Philippine Ambassador to Ankara Bahnarim Guinomla said the embassy has contacted the Filipino workers in Georgia and they have already mobilized themselves for possible evacuation.

Russian forces have entered South Ossetia and were met by Georgian forces.

Both sides ignored pleas from world leaders for calm as Moscow and Tbilisi blamed each other for the fighting in South Ossetia which began after several days of skirmishes. Georgian forces shelled the capital of its breakaway region, which separatists said left 1,400 people dead.         – With Mayen Jaymalin