125 Filipino Seafarers Repatriated from Japan

MANILA/TOKYO – A total of 125 Filipino seafarers from Nagasaki returned home on Tuesday through the efforts of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs, DFA-Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs and local manning agency, Magsaysay Maritime Corporation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the repatriates who worked aboard Costa Atlantica cruise ship arrived at the NAIA Terminal 2, “with permission from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Sub-Task Group for the Repatriation of OFWs.”

They underwent COVID-19 rapid testing and processing through the government’s One-Stop-Shop.

The DFA added that they will undergo 14-day stringent facility-based quarantine at a facility approved by the government.

“The DFA, together with the Philippine Embassies and Consulates General across the globe, stands ready to provide assistance to distressed Filipinos abroad and will continue to work with partners in government and the private sector to ensure the safe return of overseas Filipinos affected by COVID-19,” the agency said in a statement.

According to the Nagasaki Prefectural Government, the said Filipino crew members have tested negative for the new coronavirus (COVID-19). - Florenda Corpuz

(Photo credit: DFA-OUMWA)