Article by:
Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
MANILA – The Philippine Embassy in Poland has sent a consular team to Ukraine to enable “faster coordination” with Filipinos and the local authorities.
In a statement on Monday, the Embassy said the team was sent to Lviv, a city in the western part of the country, close to the Polish border on February 17, as it exercises jurisdiction over Ukraine.
“The move is also to guarantee immediate assistance to Filipino nationals,” the Embassy said.
The team, it said, was composed of a consul and an Assistance to Nationals (ATN) officer and was in coordination with the Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Kyiv, where they established an emergency contact base.
“The two are also directed to monitor the situation in Ukraine as well as connect with the Filipinos in the country who have registered with the Embassy,” the Embassy said.
During their first day, it said the team has successfully sent off two Filipino nationals from Lviv to Manila and had met with groups of Filipinos who temporarily relocated to Lviv from Kyiv as a precautionary measure.
“Another group of Filipino nationals temporarily relocated to the Ivano-Frankivsk area from Kyiv was also met by the Embassy team,” the Embassy said.
The Embassy, it said, is working with the Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and the Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Kyiv in arranging the Philippine government’s voluntary repatriation program from Ukraine.
Last February 18, six Filipinos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 from Ukraine as part of the government’s free repatriation program.
Several countries have evacuated their citizens in the eastern European nation amid fears of a possible invasion by Russia after it massed troops along the Ukrainian border.
The DFA estimated that around 350 Filipinos are living in Ukraine. (PNA)
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