The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised on Monday (March 7) the crisis status for all areas in Ukraine to Level 4 “due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation.”
The Alert Level 4 signals the conduct of mandatory evacuation procedures for Filipinos in Ukraine “at government expense.”
“Filipinos in Ukraine will be assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Poland and the Rapid Response Team, which are currently assisting Filipino nationals for repatriation and relocation,” the DFA said.
“The DFA continues to closely monitor the political and security developments in Ukraine,” it added.
Earlier this month, the DFA accounted for at least 215 Filipinos in Ukraine. On February 18, six individuals arrived in the country, while 40 Filipinos have so far been safely evacuated awaiting repatriation flights as of February 28.
On Sunday (March 6), three groups of Filipino evacuees from Kyiv and other areas in the western Ukraine arrived in Manila from Warsaw, Poland, following their crossing from the Ukrainian border. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio/AG-rir
