As the Philippine government focuses efforts on ensuring the health and safety of Filipinos not just in the country but also abroad, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) repatriated and welcomed home early evening yesterday a total of 370 Filipino crew members from three cruise ships docked in Italy.
The group of repatriates is composed of 248 Filipinos from MV Costa Luminosa from Milan, and a combined number of 122 Filipinos from MV Grandiosa and MV Opera docked in Rome. With the challenges brought about by the global freeze on international travels, the chartered flight for the said mass repatriation was made possible through the efforts of the Philippine Embassy in Rome, the Philippine Consulate General in Milan, and the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs.
The DFA likewise worked closely with the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment and the Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Transportation, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the local manning agencies in the Philippines for the seamless repatriation of the Filipino crew. Representatives of the said agencies also joined in welcoming the repatriates in Manila.
All the 370 Filipinos underwent medical check-up and were found to be asymptomatic before they boarded the chartered airline that brought them to Manila. They will also undergo a mandatory 14-day facility-based quarantine supervised by the Bureau of Quarantine.
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