Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said over 100 Filipinos from conflict-torn Sudan are expected to return to the Philippines on Friday.
“We are expecting like 131 itong araw na ito (today) aboard two flights, one from Riyadh and another from Jeddah,” DFA Asec. Paul Cortes told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
There is an ongoing repatriation of Filipinos in Sudan after the Philippine government raised the crisis status there to Alert Level 3 due to the ongoing conflict.
Since April 29, Cortes said 179 overseas Filipinos have arrived in the Philippines.
The government is currently trying to secure additional commercial flights to bring home more than 200 Filipinos who are at the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, as well as 75 others at the Port of Sudan who are waiting for the vessel that will bring them to Jeddah, he noted.
Meanwhile, around 70 Filipinos have decided to stay in Sudan due to various reasons, like work and family, he added.
Cortes said Philippine authorities continue to monitor Filipinos who chose to remain in Sudan in case they change their mind and request to be repatriated.
