Anticipated requests for the repatriation of affected Filipinos due to the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hitting Myanmar were expected by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
According to DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, some Filipino nationals had already lost jobs due to the massive destruction caused by the quake. Arrangements by the Philippine government are meant to repatriate the affected individuals.
The first step would be the repatriation of affected Filipinos to Bangkok, Thailand, due to the operations at Myanmar’s airports. From Bangkok, they will proceed to the Philippines for the reintegration program of the government to show them how to adjust again to their lives in the Philippines.
The DFA is currently focusing its efforts on the accounting of Filipinos from the most affected areas, such as Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Yangon, to assess their needs and provide assistance. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) works with the DFA to provide necessary assistance and ensure overseas Filipino workers’ welfare in cases like this.
Four Filipinos still have unaccounted statuses after the earthquake, and so operations are underway to locate these individuals.
On the latest report from Reuters, the toll of dead went by more than 1,700 and counting as of Monday in Myanmar. Thousands were displaced by this catastrophe leaving underdeveloped or severely damaged critical infrastructures.
The Philippine government, through its Office of Civil Defense, convened an emergency inter-agency meeting on Saturday to streamline an effective response to the calamitous effects of the disaster and ways to get support and relief for Filipinos in Myanmar. In that sense, it would also facilitate their repatriation to the homeland.
Officials still continue to monitor developments closely with recommendations to affected Filipinos to coordinate quick assistance and repatriation procedures with the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar or DFA.
