MANILA, Philippines — Another batch of Filipino seafarers arrived in Manila last night, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The displaced sailors will receive financial assistance from the government.
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In a statement, the DFA said 29 more seafarers from Bucharest in Romania have been repatriated, which includes 20 crew members of MV Global Aglaia, seven seafarers from MV Star Helena, and two crew members from MV Joseph Schulte.
The repatriated seafarers were assisted by the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Chisinau and the Philippine Embassy in Budapest when they left Ukraine through Moldova, which shares a border with Ukraine.
9 March 2022- DFA welcomes the arrival today of 27 seafarers who flew from Bucharest, Romania. 7 of the seafarers are from MV Star Helena while 20 are crew members of MV Global Aglaia. @ralytejada @DFAPHL pic.twitter.com/UwozdGbvTF
— Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola (@slyarriola) March 9, 2022
7 seafarers of MV Star Helena arrived in Manila from Romania where personnel of the Phil Embassy in Budapest saw them off. The group, like the previous arrivals from MV S-Breeze & MV Global Aglaia made their way to Romania from Ukraine via Moldova.@teddyboylocsin @DFAPHL pic.twitter.com/MLtjEnnSDk
— Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola (@slyarriola) March 9, 2022
In a Facebook livestream, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Arnell Ignacio, together with officers from OWWA and the DFA, greeted the repatriated seafarers in batches Wednesday night and handed over P10,000 worth of financial assistance to each of them.
"The Department expects more seafarers to arrive in the country in the next few days through its evacuation and repatriation programs," the DFA said.
A total of 55 Filipino seafarers have been repatriated from Ukraine, bringing the total Filipinos brought back home to 90.
On Monday, the department raised the crisis alert level in Ukraine to Alert Level 4 due to continued attacks by Russia, signaling the start of the government-assisted mandatory evacuation of Filipinos.