The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said 37 Filipinos in Ukraine are now being transported out of the country's capital, Kyiv, as part of the Philippine government's repatriation efforts following Russia's military invasion of the European country.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola on Friday, Feb. 25, said the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, which has jurisdiction over Filipinos in Ukraine, rented a bus to transport them to the border of neighboring Poland.
"As of now, there are 37 Filipinos on the road, on the way to Lviv for actually, eventually, for repatriation... Itatawid po sila ng ating embahada papuntang Poland," Arriola said in a Laging Handa press briefing.
Free repatriation flights for those who want to return to the Philippines are currently being conducted by the DFA on the border of Poland as Ukraine's airports have been closed.
"We are repatriating, kahit sino pong Pilipino na nagnanais na umuwi ay ipagpaalam lang po sa amin at kami po ay tutulong para maiuwi po sila (any Filipinos who want to go back to the Philippines. Just inform us and we will assist you)," Arriola said.
"But the travel now is by land and through the border of Poland dahil hindi na po puwedeng gamitin ang mga airport po ng Ukraine (because we can no longer use Ukraine's airports)," she added.
The foreign affairs official said only Poland has so far agreed to accept Filipinos leaving Ukraine even without a visa.
"So far, Poland pa lang po iyong tumatanggap na pumasok po sila border nila (only Poland is accepting Filipinos to enter their border) but we will update you as soon as we get confirmation from other countries surrounding Ukraine," Arriola added.
Ukraine also shares borders with Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and Romania and Moldova to the south.
According to Arriola, the DFA has so far accounted for 181 Filipinos in Ukraine.
With this, she called on other Filipinos in Ukraine to contact the embassy or the Honorary Consulate in Kyiv to provide them assistance such as repatriation or care packages and financial aid.
"As for the rest of the Filipinos, we are begging, we are asking them, please inform the embassy through their contact numbers or the Honorary Consulate in Kyiv where you are so that we know how to help you and how to reach out to you," she said.
Meanwhile, DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier said that he is traveling with other Department officials to personally see and ensure the safety of Filipinos at the Ukrainian border.
He also thanked Poland for allowing Filipinos to cross amid the intensified conflict between Russia and Ukraine.