OWWA: Philippine gov't not yet mandating OFW repatriation from Ukraine

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said on Tuesday that the Philippine government is not yet mandating mass repatriation from Ukraine despite the tension between Ukraine and Russia.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac noted that there are around 380 Filipinos living in Ukraine, most of whom are in Kyiv which is the capital of Ukraine.

Of this number, there were five Filipinos–four adults and one infant–who decided to go back to the Philippines on Friday amid reports of an imminent Russian invasion.

However, Cacdac said that the government has not yet raised Alert Level 4 in Ukraine to mandate repatriation or evacuation. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Alert Level 4 is issued when there is "large-scale internal conflict or full-blown external attack" in a certain destination.

“Sa ngayon, ang approach ay tila wait and see. Tingnan kung ano ang mangyayari. Hindi pa nakataas ang highest alert level sa panig ng pamahalaan natin, sa side ng DFA at POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration), so wala pang mandatory repatriation,” he said.

[Right now, our approach is to wait and see. We will check first what will happen. The highest alert level has not been raised yet by the government on the side of the DFA and POEA, so there is no mandatory repatriation as of the moment.]

Cacdac however said that the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw is offering free flights back to the Philippines and they are coordinating with the DFA to identify who among the Filipinos in the territory wants to go home.

“Sa huling pagkakaulat sa atin, ay may dalawa na nag-express ng interest na makauwi. Other than that, hindi pa natin nakikita ‘yung tinatawag na mass repatriation dito sa Ukraine,” he added.

[In the last report to us, there were two Filipinos who expressed interest in coming home. Other than that, we have not seen the mass repatriation here in Ukraine.]

Tension grew in the region after Russia deployed troops near Ukraine in recent weeks. The US has warned that Russia may invade Ukraine soon.

On Monday (Russia time), Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order for troops to proceed to Donetsk and Lugansk, two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing them as independent.

Cacdac explained they are still awaiting further developments regarding the situation in Ukraine, but assured that there is a crisis manual for repatriation for Filipinos should a war breaks out in the territory.

“We will be ready. We stand ready, of course. This is not the first time that we will be doing this. Meron na ‘yang mga [there are] identified relocation points, exit points,” he said.

He also pointed out that there were several Filipinos who were already evacuated by batches in areas 350 kilometers from Kyiv, as part of the government’s primary measures to ensure their safety.

Cacdac then urged the public to trust the political and security assessment of the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw that is gauging the situation in Ukraine on the ground.

“Kaya sila ang nandodoon para sila ang sumuri para sa atin. Syempre iba pa ‘yung nasasagap natin sa balita, but our people on the ground will make the final call as to whether itataas ‘yung alert level. So far, ang assessment is hindi pa sapat para magkaroon ng Alert Level 4, ‘yung pinakamataas,” he said.

[They are there to check the situation for us. What we hear in the news is also different, but our people on the ground will make the final call as to whether the alert level should be raised. So far, the assessment is not enough to raise it to Alert Level 4 which is the highest.]

Meanwhile, National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. assured on Tuesday that the national government created contingency plans for the affected OFWs in Ukraine and Hong Kong.

“Mayroon na po tayong ginawang contingencies, they have already conducted yung tinatawag nating contingency plan at nakita po natin may dumating na po na nirepatriate po natin galing Ukraine at minomonitor po natin mabuti,” Galvez said in an interview with GMA’s Balitanghali.

(We have made contingencies. They have conducted what we call a contingency plan, and we also saw several OFWs repatriated from Ukraine, and we are monitoring them carefully.)

“Pati po yung sa Hong Kong ang ating multi-agency task force ay gumagawa na po ng paraan para matulungan po sila at mayroon po tayong mga ahensya from the different post sa ating embassy na talaga pong tumutulong sa kanila,” Galvez, who is also the country's vaccine czar, added.

(Even those in Hong Kong, our multi-agency task force is already working on ways to help them. And we have agencies from the different posts in our embassy that are helping them.)

OFWs in Hong Kong who tested positive for COVID-19 are among those who had to wait outside hospitals before they could be admitted to hospital due to full capacity, according to a report on News Live on Saturday.

Due to the fifth wave of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong due to the Omicron variant, hospitals were full and could not admit patients right away. — Richa Noriega/KG, GMA News