A senator urged the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment to expedite the repatriation of Filipinos who are now embroiled in unrest in Afghanistan after the Taliban group re-occupied the said country.
According to Sen. Francis Tolentino, the DFA and DOLE should speed up the evacuation of overseas Filipino workers working in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the presidential palace and the entire capital in Kabul.
“As the humanitarian, political, and security crisis in Afghanistan continues to worsen, the need to immediately repatriate the remaining Filipinos in Afghanistan becomes even more urgent as each day passes,” said Tolentino.
According to the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, an estimated 200 Filipinos are still in Afghanistan, mostly working as hotel managers, professors, accountants, company managers, and engineers.
An estimated 75 Filipinos are waiting for the first batch of repatriation, according to the DFA.
According to Joseph Glenn Gumpal, president of the Samahang Pilipino in Afghanistan, Filipinos in the country are still safe.
The group has not yet received a report that a Filipino was injured.
DFA wants faster repatriation of Filipinos in Afghanistan
But they are afraid of what might happen if the Taliban visit the place where they live, according to Gumpal.
On Sunday, the DFA raised Alert Level 4 on the situation in Afghanistan, which will conduct mandatory repatriation and evacuation of Filipinos in the country.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin jr assured that chartered flights for the repatriation of OFWs are being arranged while the DFA continues to liaise with the authorities.
The Palace also ensured that Filipinos who wanted to leave Afghanistan would be repatriated.
According to DFA, there is a “worsening security situation in the country” as Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul while Taliban militants entered the capital.
“Under this alert level, the Philippine government undertakes the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in the area,” a DFA statement said.
“Gumagawa na po tayo ng hakbang para tuluyan silang ma-repatriate so pupuwede po kayong makipag-ugnayan sa ating embassy,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.
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