28 January 2010 - Filipinos from Haiti who have expressed their desire to go back to the Philippines will start arriving tomorrow, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The first batch consisting of six Filipinos will arrive Friday morning at 5:50 am via Philippine Airlines from Los Angeles.

A second batch of 18 will arrive on Saturday morning.

The remaining 40 others are expected to be in Manila early next week, as their transit visas to the United States are still being arranged by the Philippine Embassy in Cuba, who  covers  Haiti affairs, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.

A total of 64 repatriates were evacuated from Haiti last January 26, and transported to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The Filipinos will be received by a team from the DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).  The costs of the repatriation are being shouldered by the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment, through OWWA.

According to Enrico Fos, Executive Director at the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, the Filipinos will receive assistance from government agencies, just like any repatriate.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo convened the Philippine Task Force for Recovery, Relief, Assistance and Repatriation in Haiti to ensure, among others, that repatriates are fully assisted when they arrive home.

As discussed during the inter-agency meeting, the repatriates may stay at OWWA's halfway house in Pasay City for the time being.  They will also be provided transport assistance to their hometowns, and offered livelihood assistance packages by OWWA.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development will also provide psycho-social assistance and debriefing to help them get over the trauma caused by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti last January 12.

"The Filipinos will be receiving a total package," Executive Director Fos said.

The Philippine Government has extended US$50,000 in humanitarian assistance in response to the United Nations appeal for Haiti, as well as deployed a Department of Health-led medical team to Port-au-Prince.  The team arrived in Port-au-Prince Wednesday afternoon (Haiti time), and immediately looked after the medical needs of the Haitian people and the Filipino community there.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had earlier instructed the DFA and other concerned agencies to extend immediate assistance to the members of the Filipino community in Haiti.

The following are the Filipinos who are coming home Friday and Saturday morning:

REPATRIATES ARRIVING ON 29 JANUARY 2010

REPATRIATES ARRIVING ON 30 JANUARY 2010

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