More Pinoys to be repatriated from Libya

MANILA, Philippines -  More Filipino workers fleeing Libya are set to be repatriated, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The Philippine embassy in Tripoli has reported the arrival of the M/V Ionian Queen last Friday to evacuate 1,103 people, including Filipinos, an Algerian family of five and a Myanmar national.

Ambassador Alejandrino Vicente said the Philippine government-chartered vessel also picked up dependents of Filipino diplomats and embassy non-essential staff.

The Cyprus-flagged, Greek-owned vessel is now on its way to Crete, where a DFA reception team is waiting for the evacuees.

The DFA will attend to arriving Filipinos with food and accommodations.

Filipinos evacuated on board the Ionian Queen will be flown home in chartered planes. 

The remaining 185 Filipinos in Crete will be flown in commercial flights.  – Rainier Allan Ronda, Rudy Santos, Mayen Jaymalin