Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 30) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to fast track the repatriation of Filipinos in Sri Lanka, which is battling its worst economic crisis.
“Get them home. We have the money,” he said in a tweet to DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola on Sunday.
Arriola posted details about how Filipinos in Sri Lanka can return home through the Philippine Consulate in Colombo and the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
There are at least 581 Filipinos in the south Asian nation, based on the latest data from DFA.
The Sri Lankan government has defaulted on $51 billion in foreign debt, sending borrowing costs and the prices of basic goods soaring.
Even gas companies find it hard to import fuel as the country lost access to friendly loan rates from abroad. If they do get oil supply, the price per liter is staggering.
Last month, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency following violent protests outside his home over the country’s worst economic crisis, which led its people to line up for basic goods and face hours of power blackouts.
The state of emergency took effect on April 1 and it allowed authorities to arrest and imprison suspects without warrants.
3/4 PH Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh
+88 01735349427
dhaka.pe@dfa.gov.phDFA- OUMWA
+63 967 4421825 (Globe)
+63 908 3442070 (Smart)
+63 999 9802515
atn@dfa.gov.ph— Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola (@slyarriola) May 29, 2022
