The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday, June 4, it will continue providing assistance to Filipinos in Sri Lanka amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country.
While assistance is ongoing, DFA clarified there is no urgent need to have a rapid response team there.
This came after DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. ordered a quick response team to be deployed to the country without any need for it.
Locsin apologized to Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Philippines Shobini Gunasekera for the DFA’s response to the issue, saying the agency was just “too primed.”
“Assistance is being coordinated through the honorary consul in Colombo and the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka,” DFA said in a statement.
Sri Lanka is currently under an economic crisis that has triggered protests from its citizens.
Locsin said in a recent Twitter post the government is ready to fly back Filipinos there who want to be repatriated.