DFA: 3 Pinoys fall victim to rioters in United Kingdom

At least three Filipinos have fallen victim to rioters in Britain’s worst violence in years, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told a House of Representatives budget hearing the three Filipinos included two males and one female, according to a report on GMA News TV’s “Balitanghali." Of the two males, Del Rosario said one had to be hospitalized while the other lost his vehicle to rioters. The Filipina had her shop’s windows broken by rioters, he added. Del Rosario, who did not identify the Filipinos, said there are around 220,000 Filipinos in the entire UK. Del Rosario was at the House of Representatives to defend the DFA’s proposed budget for 2012, which amounted to P10.9 billion — lower than this year’s P11 billion.
The government has blamed “opportunistic" criminals for the disorder, but the opposition says cuts to social services and the failure to deal with essential social problems has contributed to the riots. Some of Britain’s most deprived areas erupted late Tuesday, with 200 rioters bombarding police with missiles in Toxteth area of the northwest city of Liverpool, which was rocked by huge riots in 1981. Pinoys urged to be vigilant Meanwhile, the DFA on Wednesday said alert level 1 has been raised in Britain as violence spreads across the country. DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez told GMA News Online that “overseas Filipino workers there are urged to be extra careful and vigilant of violence." Likewise, the Philippine Embassy in London urged the Filipino community to be vigilant in light of the riots that occurred around UK. “All Filipinos should stay away from high street areas to avoid large gatherings, from going to places of riots, or from getting involved in any public disturbance," said Charge d’Affaires Reynaldo A. Catapang. The embassy also called on the Filipino community leaders and members to contact the local police or embassy if there are any untoward incidents in their respective areas or to report any information on Filipinos who may have been injured or seriously affected by the riots. The embassy said it may be contacted at the following numbers: