DFA: 12 Filipino seafarers arrive from Ukraine

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said 12 more Filipino seafarers from Ukraine arrived in the Philippines amid the heightened tension with Russian forces.

In a tweet, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said the 12 Filipino seafarers from MV Filia Joy and MV Filia Glory arrived in Clark airport in Pampanga on Tuesday night.

Arriola said they were evacuated through the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Chisinau, Moldova in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Budapest.

The DFA also reported that it had assisted a total of 382 Filipinos in Ukraine.

Arriola said at least 330 Filipinos were repatriated from Ukraine as of March 21.

Meanwhile, around 52 Filipinos were evacuated amid the heightened tension in both countries.

Ukraine appealed to Russia on Tuesday to allow humanitarian supplies into Mariupol and to let desperate civilians out of the besieged city which President Volodymr Zelenskiy said had been devastated by Russian bombardments.

Mariupol, a port city on the Azov Sea that was home to 400,000 people before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, has been under siege for weeks. City officials say it has no food, medicine, power or running water. —Richa Noriega/LDF, GMA News