6 Pinoy evacuees from Ukraine reached Moldova —DFA

Six Filipinos who evacuated Ukraine amid attacks from Russia have managed to successfully evacuate to Moldova, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

"The evacuees include a fourth-year medical student at the Bukovinian State Medical University, two Filipino nationals married to Ukrainian nationals (one of whom traveled with her two-year old son), and two Filipinos working for an international organization managed to cross the Moldovan border," the DFA said.

The Filipinos were assisted by Honorary Consul Victor Gaina of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Chisinau in Moldova, in close coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Budapest under Ambassador Frank R. Cimafranca,

The Philippine Embassy in Budapest and the Philippine Consulate in Chisinau will make arrangements to bring four of the six Filipinos to Romania where they will take their repatriation flight to Manila.

The DFA said Filipinos who need repatriation assistance near the borders of Moldova and Romania are advised to coordinate with the Philippine Embassy in Budapest through the following contact details:

Hungary

Budapest PE emergency hotline
+36 30 202 1760
ATN Officer Claro Cabuniag
+36 30 074 5656 (mobile)
+63 966 340 4725 (viber)

Moldova

Consul Victor Gaina
Mobile number (also WhatsApp no.(sad) +37369870870 or email addresses: victor.gaina@phconsulate.md or consul@phconsulate.md

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, DFA Undersecretary Sara Lou Arriola said Filipino evacuees will not be forced to return to the Philippines. She also noted that most overseas Filipino workers in Ukraine are undocumented.

"Yung mga undocumented hindi namin sila pipilitin [umuwi], ang gusto lang namin malaman kung nasaan sila," she said, adding that the Philippines has not been deploying OFWs to Ukraine for years already.

Almost all of the OFWs in Ukraine are undocumented," she said.

Staying put

Meanwhile, the DFA also said that majority of Filipinos in Ukraine are fleeing the areas where Russia's unprovoked assault is happening and are hopeful such offensive will end in two to three months.

"But we learned there are 33 people who left Kyiv and are in Lyiv, and there are those still leaving Kyiv to go to Lyiv, and they don't want to be repatriated. They want to wait it out [in Lyiv], so we are just in touch with them and stand ready to give assistance as needed. They think this [armed attack] will be over in two to three months," DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said.

Arriola said Filipinos in Ukraine include household service workers, teachers, employed in international organizations and are married to Ukraine citizens.

"Many of them don't want to be separated with their family members too, and they like the quality of life in Ukraine," Arriola said. "So rest assured we stand ready to be of assistance and give care packages to them." 

Earlier, the DFA announced that 13 Filipino evacuees from Ukraine have safely reached Poland from Lviv, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border.  Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was at the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne Border Crossing Station in Poland to welcome them.

Locsin arrived in Poland on Saturday afternoon after attending the European Union (EU) Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in Paris, to help welcome the first group of Filipino evacuees.

Despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Philippine government has maintained Alert Level 2 in Ukraine.

According to DFA, Alert Level 2 or the restriction phase is issued if there are “real threats to the life, security, and property of Filipinos arising from internal disturbance, instability, or external threat.”

Russia began attacking Ukraine on Thursday last week with cruise missiles and shells.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine forces have been repelling Russian troops advancing on Kyiv. —KBK/RSJ, GMA News