Press Release
PR-050-2015
11 April 2015

PHL evacuates 464 Filipinos from Yemen in 4 Batches
240 Repatriated Back to the Philippines

Above : CG Leo Tito Ausan briefs Filipinos before their departure to the Jizan Airport for their flights to Riyadh and onward to Manila.

(Riyadh, 11 April 2015) The Philippine government has successfully evacuated 464 Filipinos and 9 foreigners from Yemen in 4 batches by land through the Yemeni-Saudi border since 5 April. The last batch was on 9 April and included 79 Filipinos and 6 foreigners (4 Singaporeans, 1 Yemeni spouse and 1 Egyptian spouse). They started their trip from Sana’a in the morning and arrived Saudi Arabia in the evening the same day.  The group was assisted at the border by a team from the Philippine Consulate General led by Acting Consul General Leo Tito Ausan Jr.

ACTUAL EVACUATION

The Philippine government has already repatriated to the Philippines 240 Filipinos from the 464 evacuated from Yemen. The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh arranged their flights from Jizan to Riyadh to Manila on 4 flights on 8, 10 and 11 April through various airline carriers, including Cathay Pacific, PAL and Cebu Pacific. A group of 50 Filipinos will arrive in Manila on PAL at 10AM on 11 April, and another group of 100 Filipinos will arrive in Manila on Cebu Pacific at 3PM also on 11 April. The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh is working to repatriate all Filipinos who have been evacuated as soon as possible.

Flights to MNL

“I wish to thank the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for allowing the entry of evacuees from Yemen through the Tuwal border, and granting them transit visas while the Embassy arranges their repatriation to the Philippines. The processing at the Saudi-Yemeni border has been generally smooth, and there are composite teams from the Embassy and the Consulate at the border to assist in the processing of entry of Filipino evacuees from Yemen,” Ambassador Ezzedin Tago said.

There are currently 3 in Sana’a, Yemen who registered for repatriation, and another 42 in Saada, northern Yemen who registered for repatriation. The Philippine Embassy’s Crisis Management Team based in Sana’a, currently led by Consul Winston Dean Almeda, is arranging for the next group of evacuees, mainly composed of those in Saada.

“I again strongly urge all Filipinos who remain in Yemen to immediately contact the Embassy team to arrange for their evacuation from Yemen immediately,” said Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Yemen Ezzedin Tago.

“I was in Yemen from 20 March to 5 April to urge all Filipinos there to leave and avail of PHL mandatory repatriation. Starting in October 2014, the PHL government raised the alert level to 3 and advised everyone to leave Yemen. Since then, the Embassy had assigned personnel to encourage Filipinos to leave Yemen. On 18 February 2015, the PHL government raised the alert level to 4 implementing mandatory repatriation for Filipinos in Yemen. We hope that everyone in Yemen will respond positively to our advice and contact the CMT based in Sanaa to arrange for their repatriation”, added Ambassador Tago.

The CMT can be contacted through telephone numbers +967 73 019 4165, +967 73 742 6292, +967 73 384 4958, and +967 73 845 1828, and via e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..