DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                 2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                               Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-108-05                                                                                                                                                                             28 February 2005

FILIPINOS DETAINED IN HUNGARY TO COME HOME TODAY; PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR WARNS FILIPINOS
FROM ATTEMPTING TO USE HUNGARY AS A JUMP-OFF POINT TO ITALY

28 February 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Budapest, Hungary today reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that three Filipinos are arriving home today after being detained by immigration officials in the city of Nagykanizsa, Hungary near the Croatian border.  The three Filipinos were accompanied by Philippine Embassy officials to the Ferihegy Airport in Budapest yesterday, 27 February, where they took a Malev Airlines flight to Rome, Italy and then a connecting flight to Manila via Kuwait Airways.

The Filipinos are expected to arrive today at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 1615 HRS aboard Kuwait Airways flight KU 411.
 
The Embassy made representations with the Hungarian detention and immigration authorities to facilitate the release and subsequent repatriation of the Filipinos.    The Embassy also coordinated with the relatives of the detainees
in the Philippines who bought and sent the airplane tickets for the return flight of the Filipinos.

The three Filipino nationals as well as their relatives expressed their thanks to Philippine Ambassador to Hungary Alejandro D. Del Rosario and the Embassy staff for the assistance they rendered to facilitate the repatriation of the Filipinos and for extending consular services to them while in detention.

It will be recalled that the three Filipinos, all residents of Batangas, were apprehended by Hungarian authorities last 13 February while on board a train attempting to cross the Croatian border, en route to Italy (for background, please see official DFA press release no. SFA-AGR-098-05).

In light of this latest incident of Filipino “border-crossers” being apprehended in Eastern Europe, Ambassador Del Rosario reiterated his warning to Filipinos seeking employment in the European continent that there are no available jobs in Eastern Europe for OFWs and that they cannot use Hungary as jump-off point to Italy since Hungary has not yet acceded to Schengen Visa Treaty, which is why Hungarian visas are valid only in Hungary and not for other members of the European Union.  END
 

/jay