Mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in Ukraine has been enforced by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) due to the "rapidly deteriorating security situation" in the war-stricken country.
This as the DFA raises Alert Level 4 for Filipino nationals in all areas in Ukraine on Monday, March 7.
Under Alert Level 4, the Philippine government undertakes mandatory evacuation procedures for overseas Filipinos at the government expense.
"Filipinos in Ukraine will be assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Poland and the Rapid Response Team, which are currently assisting Filipino nationals for repatriation," the DFA said.
The Foreign Affairs department assured that they continue to closely monitor the political and security developments in Ukraine.
On March 7, three groups of Filipino evacuees from Ukraine, along with their dependents, arrived in the country. They came from Kyiv and other areas in the western part of Ukraine and were evacuated to Warsaw, Poland prior to their repatriation.
On March 8, 21 Filipino seafarers, who were stranded at the Port of Odessa in Ukraine, also returned home. They were evacuated to Moldova prior to coming back to the country.
Filipinos may reach the Philippine Embassy through the following line of communications:
Viber and WhatsApp emergency phone number: +48 604 357 396
Assistance-to-Nationals phone number: +48 694 491 663 (Viber and WhatsApp calls)