496 Pinoys out of Sudan; flights home being arranged

MANILA, Philippines — At least 496 distressed Filipinos affected by the violence in Sudan have now evacuated to safer places, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.

Of the number, 414 are either at the border between Egypt and Sudan or have crossed the border into Egypt as of yesterday.

An additional 58 people, according to DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza, are in Port Sudan awaiting the ship that would bring them to Jeddah. This brings the number to a total of 472.

“To make up for the balance from the 496, we have 24. Of the 24, eight flew to Athens via a Greek military flight. Sixteen, on the other hand, have already arrived in Jeddah and were met by our consulate general there,” she told reporters.

The DFA said more than 300 Filipinos were safely evacuated from Sudan in the last 12 hours alone through Philippine government efforts.

Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago welcomed 340 Filipinos from Khartoum at the Argeen border yesterday morning after they were cleared by Egyptian authorities for entry.

The DFA noted that there have been some delays in the processing at the Egyptian border due to the influx of evacuees from Sudan.

Eight Filipinos from Khartoum arrived in Greece onboard a Greek military aircraft and were received by Philippine Ambassador Giovanni Palec.

The DFA, giving assurance that efforts to evacuate all affected Filipinos will continue, said the eight would be repatriated on the next available flight to Manila.

“There are currently 58 Filipinos in Port Sudan, awaiting the ship that will bring them to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where 16 Filipinos have already been received by the team led by Consul General Edgar Tomas Auxilian,” the DFA said.

It added that DFA teams in Athens, Jeddah and at the Egypt-Sudan border have been assisting Filipinos from Khartoum and are making arrangements for their repatriation via the next available flights.

Coordination with the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Greece on the safe passage of Filipino evacuees is continuing through the respective Philippine embassies.

Meanwhile, Migrant Work[1]ers Secretary Susan Ople gave assurance yesterday that 340 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the fight[1]ing in Sudan would be repatri[1]ated via a chartered flight. “We are now exploring the possibility of a chartered flight to bring 340 OFWs home.

So certain arrangements will have to be made by the DMW (Department of Mi[1]grant Workers) and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration),” said Ople at an online briefing.