No Pinoy casualties in Syria - Phl embassy

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine embassy in Syria yesterday reported that there were no Filipinos who died or were hurt in the Middle East country.                                                                            

There had been reports that two Filipino household service workers were hit by stray bullets during street demonstrations on April 29.       

The two Filipinos were allegedly sent by their employers to purchase goods from a store.                                                       

In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Ambassador to Syria Wifredo Cuyugan said there had been inconsistencies in the reports because there were no demonstrations held in Damascus that day.                     

“The embassy contacted its area coordinators, its volunteers from the Filipino community and other sources in Syria to verify the report. These sources all informed the embassy that no such incident happened,” Cuyugan said.                         

“In addition, there are inconsistencies in the alleged report. There were no demonstrations in Damascus on April 29.

 Damascus and its neighboring governorates suffered its worst hailstorms that day, therefore, no significant protests took place in the capital or anywhere near it,” he added. 

Cuyugan noted that the alleged incident happened on a Friday, when most stores were closed.                                            

 “It is also highly improbable for Syrian employers to ask their workers to buy something from the store amid heavy gunfire and protests,” he said.                                                        

He said employers and recruitment agencies normally inform the embassy of such incidents. There is an existing protocol of hospitals and local police departments, not only in Damascus but in the whole country, to inform the embassy of the occurrence of such incidents.                                       

The DFA appealed to concerned parties not to release unverified reports to avoid causing unnecessary anxiety among the public.                                                                         

On April 26, the DFA declared a crisis alert level 2 in Syria, because of the prevailing political tension.                            

There are around 17,000 Filipinos in the country.                   

The DFA offers voluntary repatriation for Filipinos in Daraa, Latakia and Homs.                                                                  

 Alert level 2 entails restriction of movement and encourages relocation or repatriation at one’s own cost if there is no pressing need to remain in the country.              

Non-essential and non-urgent travel is discouraged, including travel for tourism purposes, and only returning workers will be allowed to go back.