DFA: 2 Filipinos yet to be evacuated from Myanmar amid conflict

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it is still helping two Filipinos to get out of Myanmar amid the insurgency there against military rule.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, in an Unang Balita interview, clarified that there were only four Filipinos who were able to exit Myanmar, as opposed to the six earlier reported. 

“Actually, anim dapat pero apat pa lang ang nakalikas. May dalawa pa na tinutulungan pa nating makalikas. ‘Yung apat ay nasa mabuting kalagayan na,” he said. 

(Actually, there should have been six of them but only four were evacuated. There are two more who we are still helping to evacuate. The four are in good condition.) 

De Vega said the two Filipinos were not able to evacuate from Myanmar to China because they are wanted in China in connection with their illegal  operations that have victimized several Chinese citizens. 

Due to this, Philippine authorities are still looking for other ways to directly transport them to Bangkok, Thailand, where they could get flights back to Manila. 

The four Filipinos who were able to exit Myanmar, meanwhile, were able to get back to the Philippines on Tuesday.

De Vega explained that these repatriates, along with the two more who were left behind, were among the human trafficking victims in Myanmar who were forced to work as scammers. 

He said they had to be evacuated as they may be affected by the fighting in the north, particularly in the Shan State. 

“‘Yung mga naiipit sa gulo kasi, nasa lugar sila na hindi natin binigyan ng authorization magtrabaho. ‘Yung puwede lang makapunta ng Myanmar ‘yung mga dating nandon na sa Yangon and few other places. There’s at least two more. Babalitaan namin sa inyo kung kelan natulungan na nating makalabas,” the De Vega said. 

(Those who are trapped in the fighting are in a place which we did not grant them the authorization to work. The only people who can go to Myanmar are those who have already worked in Yangon and a few other places. There's at least two more Filipinos trapped. We will let you know when we have helped them out.) 

President Ferdinand "Bongbong' Marcos Jr. said Monday that the conflict in Myanmar has been a difficult issue for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address, with little progress made towards a resolution and intensifying fighting.

"There is a great deal of impetus for ASEAN to solve this problem. But it is a very, very difficult problem," Marcos said.

Based on a Reuters report, an alliance of ethnic minority insurgents allied with a pro-democracy parallel civilian government launched an offensive last month in the biggest challenge to the ruling military in Myanmar since it seized power from elected leaders in a 2021 coup. —KBK, GMA Integrated News