Government to use 72-hour Sudan ceasefire to evacuate Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines — The government is planning to take advantage of the 72-hour ceasefire declared in Sudan to evacuate Filipinos trapped in the strife-torn country, President Marcos said yesterday as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) started evacuating the first batch of 50 Filipinos.

The situation in Sudan – where clashes have erupted because of a power struggle between the Sudanese armed forces and a paramilitary group – was discussed during Marcos’ meeting with defense and military officials yesterday.

“Right now, we are hoping that the 72-hour ceasefire that has been declared will hold and... we are preparing ourselves,” the President said in a video message released by the Presidential Communications Office.

“In fact, (Migrant Workers) Secretary (Susan) Ople is on her way to the area just in case the 72-hour ceasefire pushes through, we can take advantage of it. We can evacuate our people. So that’s what we’re working on now,” he added.

Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Ople said she and Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Hans Cacdac were scheduled to travel to Cairo in Egypt last night to oversee the evacuation efforts and the giving of assistance to affected Filipinos. Displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Sudan will be getting $200 cash assistance from the DMW, Ople announced yesterday.

According to Marcos, the evacuation of Filipinos would be challenging because even the land routes are not completely safe.

“The airports were bombed and cannot be used. So we are still trying to find alternative ways. Maybe in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), maybe in Djibouti. And of course, the original plan was to take them to Cairo but it would be a long route,” Marcos said. “We’re watching this situation very, very closely to see if there’s a window of opportunity to evacuate our Philippine nationals.”

The DFA started evacuating the first batch of 50 Filipinos in Sudan that left the Sudanese capital Khartoum and traveled by land to Egypt on Monday night.

But the embassy and the consulate have also monitored some Filipinos who have left on their own to Egypt and to the Port Sudan.

DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said 50 Filipinos joined the first batch that would be taken to Aswan in Egypt before they are brought to Cairo.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the first batch of 50 Filipinos were already on the road to Egypt. The evacuation is expected to be complete before the week ends. The embassy would provide accommodation and plane tickets to the Filipinos.

As of April 24, the DFA said the embassy has received a total of 740 registrations from Filipinos in Sudan. Around 350 have indicated requests for repatriation.

Filipinos who expressed desire to evacuate Sudan are advised to wait for government-coordinated transportation to evacuate Khartoum. — Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero, Mayen Jaymalin, Robertzon Ramirez