Pinoys advised to leave Yemen

MANILA, Philippines - The escalating political crisis in Yemen has prompted the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to raise Alert Level 3, which paves the way for the voluntary repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Yemeni territory.

Hence, all Filipinos are strongly advised to leave Yemen as soon as possible.

Currently, a total deployment ban has been enforced and even OFWs on vacation are not allowed to return to Yemen.

The Philippine embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that has jurisdiction over Yemen has already deployed a Crisis Management Team (CMT) to the capital Sana’a to monitor the political and security situation and assist the Filipino community there.

All Filipinos who wish to avail of voluntary repatriation must signify their intention and immediately coordinate with the CMT for assistance, the embassy said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, for its part, encouraged Filipinos in Yemen to register for repatriation not later than Nov. 30.

The Philippine embassy urged Filipinos in all cities and regions of Yemen to update their registration with the embassy or, if they have not registered in the past, register by accomplishing the registration form on the website of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh www.riyadhpe.dfa.gov.ph.