(Eagle News) — Over 200 distressed Filipinos arrived in the Philippines this week from Vietnam, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, Aug. 20.
According to the DFA, the 271 Filipinos arrived in the Philippines through a chartered Cebu Pacific flight on August 15.
Most of the repatriates were distressed due to economic difficulties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, while some of them were stranded in Vietnam due to flight cancellations.
The department said of the 271, 163 passengers boarded in Ho Chi Minh City while 108 joined from Hanoi.
The department said the embassy partnered with the Vietnamese government in facilitating the exit visas of many of the repatriates and for an approval for the flight amid strict social distancing measures in Vietnam.
The Filipinos also received US $200 and were given RT-PCR tests free of charge courtesy of the Philippine Government.
