The cost of renting a bus to evacuate people from war-torn Sudan and bring them to Egypt has gone up to as much as $30,000 or about P1.5 million, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.
“We won’t be tight-fisted, we will do everything–whatever it takes to get the bus,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega in a radio interview.
Initially, it cost $8,000 to rent a bus, but the price has gone up because the capital Khartoum has become a war zone for two military factions struggling for power, said Department of Migrant Workers (DMA) Secretary Susan Ople.
On Wednesday night, the Philippine government raised an Alert Level 3 status (voluntary repatriation and evacuation) for Filipinos in Sudan.
The government has been struggling to evacuate Filipinos from Sudan not only because of the high cost but due to a scarcity of available buses.
Nevertheless, more than 400 of the 700 registered Filipinos in Sudan were either already taken to or on their way to the border with Egypt.
The big bulk of the evacuees will be arriving onboard the seven busesthat were newly contracted by the Philippine Embassy in Egypt. Once in Egypt, the evacuees will travel by land to the Egyptian city of Aswan before flying to the capital, Cairo, and then to the Philippines.
Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago, who holds jurisdiction over Filipinos in Sudan, assisted the evacuees who arrived in Egypt to ensure their entry.
He said the embassy asked the Egyptian authorities to allow Filipinos entry into their country despite not having the necessary visa, which he said was impossible to process in Khartoum.
Filipino evacuees will be given assistance with or without the necessary visa; while those who do not have their passport or legal documents will have to wait a little longer, probably until Friday, to enter Egypt, the ambassador said.
The embassy also sent Vice Consul Bojer Capati to Sudan to assistFilipinos at the border, especially those who could not afford the processing fee for their departure.
The Palace on Thursday reported that 409 Filipinos have been evacuated from Sudan so far. Some 335 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) andfamily members left Khartoum on April 26 for Egypt through the Wadi Halfa Highway.
Another 35 OFWs and 15 students were safely evacuated to Egypt with the help of Filipinos in Sudan as well as personnel from the DMW.
Ople and Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac are currently in Cairo, Egypt, to assist in the government’s evacuation efforts and lead thedistribution of welfare assistance to evacuate OFWs from the war-torn country.
Senior Defense Undersecretary Carlito Galvez, officer-in-charge, said he has already coordinated with the DFA to have the Defense attachés from the United Arab Emirates and Israel help the Philippine Embassy in Cairo in the evacuation of Filipinos from Sudan.
Since the violence broke out 11 days ago, 459 deaths and 4,072 injuries have been reported, with the World Health Organization (WHO) warning of “huge biological risks” to people as Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has taken over the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum.
Galvez thanked the Malaysian government for sharing valuableinformation on the security situation in Sudan, which contributed to the Philippines’ repatriation efforts. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Maricel V. Cruz and Charles Dantes
In other developments:
• Senator Jinggoy Estrada urged the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Department of Labor and Employment to give workers returning from Sudan alternative livelihood programs.
• The chairperson of the House of Representatives committee on overseas workers affairs expressed his deep concern on the safety of OFWs in Sudan. “The civil war in Sudan has caused untold suffering and uncertainty for our fellow Filipinos working in the country, and we must act with urgency to bring them back to the Philippines,” KabayanRep. Ron Salo said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Maricel V. Cruz and Charles Dantes