DFA to repatriate Filipinos in Yemen as alert level raised to 3

The Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that it will repatriate Filipinos who wish to leave Yemen as the crisis alert level in that country was raised to "3" due to escalating violence in the capital city of Sanaa. Under crisis alert level 3, voluntary repatriation at Philippine government’s expense will be offered to Filipinos who wish to leave Yemen. Yemeni loyalist forces have waged a gun battle with opponents of entrenched President Ali Abdullah Saleh who has clung to power despite heavy diplomatic and popular pressure to end his nearly 33-year rule. The Department of Labor and Employment has also enforced a deployment ban effective immediately. All Filipinos are also advised not to travel to Yemen at this time. There are 1,422 Filipinos in Yemen registered with the Embassy. Many of them are working in companies whose employers assured the Embassy that they have an evacuation plan for their employees. About 80 of them are on vacation and are out of the country on extended leave of absence. “For prudence’s sake and upon the instructions of President Benigno S. Aquino III, we have raised crisis alert level 3 in Yemen in light of escalating violence in the capital where most of our nationals are located," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said. "We are ready to move our people out of harm’s ways and the teams from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah stationed there are prepared to implement the voluntary repatriation program," he added. The Embassy hotline numbers for Yemen are +966-536-881-787. Advisory to Filipinos in Yemen Embassy teams have also contacted the Filipino community in Yemen about the heightened alert level and about the government’s voluntary repatriation program. The teams instructed the Filipino community in Yemen to monitor ongoing developments and to keep their communication lines open. Filipinos have also been advised to keep an emergency bag ready with clothing, water, canned goods and medicine, for themselves and for their family members. They were also told to prepare money and important documents such as passports. Contingency plan Charge d’Affaires Ezzedin Tago and a five-man team from the Embassy are in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to implement the contingency plan. A separate three-man team from the Consulate General is stationed at the port city of Aden for the same purpose. The Embassy in Riyadh covers Yemen. Additional officers and staff from the Embassy and the Consulate General are on standby in case more personnel are needed to assist in the implementation of the contingency plan. The Philippine Honorary Consul in Yemen Mohammad Al-Jamal and the Embassy teams are also closely monitoring developments in Yemen. - VVP, GMA News