Immediate evacuation for OFWs in Sudan ordered

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has ordered for the immediate evacuation and assistance of Filipinos fleeing Sudan during the 72-hour ceasefire between the warring factions in the African country.

“Right now, we are hoping that the 72-hour ceasefire that has been declared will hold and we will—we are preparing ourselves,” Marcos said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

T he ceasefire was announced on Monday by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.

T he President met with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Department of National Defense (DND), and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to get updates on the situation of Filipinos in Sudan. Exit routes AMONG the issues discussed at the meeting were the three possible evacuation routes for the initial 327 Filipinos who sought repatriation.

DMW Secretary Susan Ople said the exit points include the land routes from Khartoum to Egypt as well as to the Port Sudan and then, by ship to Jeddah.

T he third one, she said, would be by air through the US base in Djibouti.

M arcos said they are closely monitoring the situation in Sudan since the land routes out of the African state as well as its airport remain unsafe.

“ We’re watching this situation very, very closely and to see if there’s a window of opportunity to bring the Philippine nationals out [of Sudan],” Marcos said.

Government aid

OPLE said she expects the number of evacuees to rise since the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported over 700 Filipinos are in Sudan.

The DMW chief will be flying to Cairo, Egypt to oversee the assistance for affected Filipinos, while DFA will handle their evacuation. S he said each of the affected workers will be given a US200 cash aid as well as possible temporary alternative employment opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“ We are working it out with our partners in Saudi Arabia if there is a possibility that because most of the workers based in Sudan are skilled professionals, we are trying to explore the possibility of temporary jobs in Saudi Arabia—if that will be allowed by their government,” Ople said.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng