20 Pinoy repatriates from Turkiye expected this month--DFA
The Philippines should expect a third batch of 20 Filipino repatriates from quake-hit Turkiye this month, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said on Thursday, March 9.
This follows the first batch of 25 Filipinos who arrived in the country last week and 24 others who were repatriated from Turkiye on Wednesday, March 8, including a Turkish national married to a Filipino. This brought the total number of Filipino repatriates from Turkiye to 49.
Around 78 Filipinos are still in shelters in Ankara, Turkiye after they were rescued and evacuated from areas hit by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake last month.
De Vega said another shelter for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) was provided for those who have been rescued or left the quake-affected areas in southern Turkiye.
“Iyong iba sa kanila hindi naman permanenteng maiiwan dito. Iyong iba siguro after one year kapag naka-recover na 'yun Turkiye. Babalik kasi nandoon pa 'yung asawa nila, kung hindi kaya nasa Middle East ‘yung asawa nila (Not all of them will stay permanently here. The others maybe after one year when Turkiye has recovered. They will return there because their spouses are there, or their spouses are in the Middle East),” the official shared during the Laging Handa briefing.
These Filipinos went back home simply because their homes have been destroyed by the earthquake, but he explained that those who have already renounced their Filipino citizenships in favor of Turkish citizenships need to be dual citizens.
Out of the 280 Filipinos in Turkiye, almost decided to stay since some of them are married to Turkish nationals while others have been promised housing and financial assistance by the Turkish government.
More than 100 Filipinos have either decided to leave the quake-torn areas or went back to the Philippines, the official added.
De Vega said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) gave a $200 financial assistance to the repatriates before they went home.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is also expected to provide assistance.