- MANILA: Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario says nearly 1,000 of 10,000 Filipinos in Syria will have been repatriated by next month amid escalating violence there.
Some 500 Filipinos have fled since a political crisis erupted in Syria in March. Del Rosario told reporters Wednesday at least 400 more workers may be home within a month.
Del Rosario has just returned from Syria. He thanked Syrian officials for facilitating Filipinos workers’ exit.
The Philippines has urged Filipinos to leave Syria at the government’s expense.
But del Rosario says none of the Filipinos he met there wants to be repatriated, citing lack of economic opportunities at home.
The Philippines is one of the world’s largest labor exporters.
