Philippines to welcome home first batch of Türkiye repatriates
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expected to welcome home the first batch of Filipinos, composed of nine families, repatriated weeks after the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Türkiye earlier this month.
“Succeeding repatriation efforts are being arranged over the coming days,” the embassy said.
Meanwhile, the embassy also completed its second relief and evacuation mission to Adana, Hatay, and Mersin provinces. Together with the Department of Migrant Workers, they were also able to provide financial aid to 77 overseas Filipinos.
The massive earthquake killed over 44,000 people in Türkiye alone, with thousands of reported casualties reported in neighboring Syria.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Türkiye’s southern province of Hatay and northern Syria on February 20, which was followed by a 5.8-magnitude quake three minutes later. The country’s disaster management agency said it recorded two more tremors with magnitudes of 5.2 around 20 minutes after the first quake on Monday last week.
The Philippine embassy said it was able to distribute relief goods to Filipinos affected by the most recent earthquakes.
Meanwhile, the foreign service post said it is currently housing 27 families in its embassy shelter. A team from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has also arrived to help with the management of the shelter and to address the concerns of overseas Filipino workers.
It added that the Filipino community there also helped out with “non-traditional assistance,” helping out by looking after children in the shelter and taking them out on a field trip to a nearby amusement park.
“The Embassy continues to address the concerns of our shelterees, including extending their stay at the shelter as well as finding the appropriate housing and financial programs and other services offered by the Turkish government and non-government organizations,” the post said. – Kaycee Valmonte with reports from Agence France-Presse
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