Filipino repatriates from Syria to reach 5,137

MANILA, Philippines - The total number of overseas Filipino workers repatriated from war-torn Syria will reach 5,137 upon the arrival of 21 repatriates who left on Wednesday, the first group to leave for the Philippines this year.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said of the total number, 2,112 were repatriated through Lebanon through the assistance of the Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The Embassy in Damascus stopped using the Damascus International Airport in December 2012  after fighting between Syrian government troops and rebels intensified in Eastern Ghouta, where the road to the airport is located.

The Embassy in Damascus said there are still an estimated 2,600 Filipinos living in Syria based on the data from the Syrian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is appealing to all Filipinos whose relatives are still in Syria to contact the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs at the following telephone numbers: (02)834-3240, (02)834-4583, or the Philippine Embassy in Damascus at telephone numbers, +963-116132626, +963-949155557 and provide the names of Filipinos and their contact numbers and, if possible, the names of employers and their contact numbers.