DFA: More PH rescue teams to be sent to help quake-hit Turkey, Syria

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, February 14 said more rescue teams from the Philippine government will be sent to give assistance in Turkey and Syria following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck there.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said the Philippine embassies in Ankara, Istanbul, and Lebanon will send teams to help with residents and Filipinos who were affected by the strong temblor.

“May parating pang team, kasi meron tayong embahada sa Ankara at konsulado sa Istanbul ang involved, may darating pa na team from Lebanon para magbigay rin ng tulong so yun ang importante,” he added. (There is another team coming because we have an embassy in Ankara and a consulate in Istanbul involved. There is also a team coming from Lebanon to provide help as well, so that is the important thing.)

the 64 Filipinos who lost their homes due to the earthquake that they will be given aid and that supplies of relief goods are still enough.

De Vega said that the government is also handing assistance to Filipinos who chose to stay in Turkey and Syria.

According to the DFA, there are a total of 248 affected Filipinos and two casualties in Turkey, while 60 Filipinos in Syria were recorded to have been affected by the quake.

De Vega added that a six-man team from the Philippines will be heading to Lebanon.

“May six-man team sa Pilipinas papuntang Lebanon galing Damascus para magbigay tulong (There is a 6-man team in the Philippines going to Lebanon from Damascus to provide assistance),” De Vega said.

citizenship first under R.A. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003.

“Kung gusto umuwi ifufund lang, madaling lang, ang iba kasi sa kanila Turkish citizens, kailangan muna iacquire ang kanilang philippine citizenship according to R.A. 9225, kung magagawa natin within several days magsisiuwian na rin ‘yan,” the DFA official said.

(If they want to go home, it will be funded, it’s easy. But some of them are Turkish citizens, so they have to first acquire their Philippine citizenship according to RA 9225; if we can do it within several days, then they will be going home.)

(9), Cebu (8), Davao del Sur (8), Cavite (7) and Negros Occidental (7).

The nationwide positivity rate on Feb. 9 and 10 was also at 1.6%.

“As predicted two weeks ago, NCR improves to low risk as of Feb. 9, 2023,” OCTA Research fellow Guido David tweeted on Wednesday, February 15. g

De Vega said anyone who wants to go home to the Philippines will be assisted by the government while some need to acquire their Philippine

The DFA official assured

On February 6, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that the Philippines will send an 85-man team to help Turkey after the nation experienced a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The said team was already deployed on Wednesday last week. (Inquirer.net) in his country. Mr. President, we are with you in your search for peace,” he added.

Zelenskyy, who has long been seeking a phone conversation with Marcos, was the first to tweet about their call on Monday night.

“Had the first phone call in the history of bilateral relations with President of the Philippines @ bongbongmarcos,” he said.

“Thanked him for supporting sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We discussed further deepening of cooperation, in particular on international platforms,” he added.

Last month, Ukrainian Charges D’Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Malaysia Denys Mykhailiuk said they have been trying to have the two leaders speak to each other since Marcos assumed office in June 2022 but failed to receive a response.

Marcos later clarified that he did not snub Zelenskyy’s request for a phone conversation and has always been willing to talk with him.

Mykhailiuk then apologized to his Philippine counterparts for the “misunderstanding.”

In November last year, Marcos described the RussiaUkraine war as “unacceptable” and reiterated his call for both nations to end the conflict diplomatically.

“...War is unacceptable and we ask all parties involved, there were several speeches that I made, urging that peace be brought back to Ukraine and that the confrontation be brought to the diplomatic space," he said.

Ukraine has been in conflict with Russia since February 2022, leading to the death of thousands and driving millions of Ukrainians to flee the country.

(PNA)