More Filipinos return from Myanmar

Myanmar-based Filipinos return home

MANILA – Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. welcomed 139 overseas Filipinos from Myanmar at the NAIA Terminal 3 today.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine government chartered a special flight despite the current COVID-19 travel restrictions and the brewing political conditions in Myanmar.

The chartered Air Asia arrived a few minutes past 6:00 P.M. Monday.

“This is a testament to our government’s steadfast commitment to assisting our people across the globe. We at the DFA are doing our best to do just that by bringing our people home amid the pandemic,” Secretary Locsin said.

Eleven dependent children and four dependent parents, including two senior citizens, of the repatriated Filipinos who worked as professionals in Myanmar and whose contracts were seriously affected by the COVID-19 restrictions in the country composed the 139 passengers.

From March 2020, the DFA through its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs has repatriated 509 overseas Filipinos from Myanmar via DFA-chartered flights.

Today’s flight was the second DFA-chartered flight from Yangon while 12 other special flights were facilitated by the DFA in partnership with airline companies. (Melo M. Acuña)

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (extreme right) welcomes Filipinos from Myanmar early Monday evening at NAIA Terminal 3. (DFA handout photo)