DFA awaits OFWs' request for repatriation amid Sri Lanka's ongoing crisis


No Filipinos in Sri Lanka have made a request for repatriation so far amid the ongoing economic crisis in the foreign country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Anti-government demonstrators take part in a protest near the President's office in Colombo on May 10, 2022. Fresh protests erupted in Sri Lanka's capital on May 10, defying a government curfew after five people died in the worst violence in weeks of demonstrations over a dire economic crisis. ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP

The DFA, however, said that while they have yet to receive any repatriation request from migrant Filipinos there, they are keeping in touch with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Colombo and Filipino community leaders in Sri Lanka.

"The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka, is in touch with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Colombo and Filipino community leaders in Sri Lanka regarding the current situation of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers)in the country amid the economic crisis," the DFA said late Tuesday night, May 24.

It assured that all parties are monitoring if any Filipino worker in Sri Lanka will request repatriation.

"So far, both the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka and the Honorary Consulate in Colombo have not received any such request," the DFA further said.

It also disclosed that at present, most of the OFWs "are still able to continue their employment" despite the ongoing financial crisis Sri Lanka is facing.

The DFA said it will, however, be ready to repatriate nationals from the foreign country "should circumstances necessitate the return to the Philippines of OFWs."

All concerned agencies will be tapped for the repatriation effort, the agency added.