Evacuations by the Philippines related to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the national and local governments of the Philippines have coordinated numerous international and domestic evacuations.

Background[edit]

As early as February 2020, the Philippine government has taken measures to evacuate its citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the repatriation of overseas Filipinos from various countries and international conveyances affected by the pandemic and domestic evacuation of locally stranded individuals, which were conducted by the national and local governments.

International[edit]

See also: Overseas Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic
Repatriated Filipinos disembark their plane at Clark Air Base, Pampanga on February 9, 2020[1]

The Philippine government has repatriated its citizens from various COVID-19 affected countries and international conveyances. By April 3, 2021, more than 399,696 overseas Filipinos (294,294 land-based and 105,402 sea-based) have been evacuated since its first repatriation in the first quarter of 2020.[2] According to the DFA, COVID-19 pandemic–related repatriations have become the largest evacuation effort conducted by the country since the 1991 Gulf War in the Middle East, where approximately 20,000 to 30,000 individuals had been evacuated.[3] Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, has volunteered several repatriation flights as early as March 2020.[4]

The first of such efforts by the government involved repatriating Filipino nationals in Hubei, China. The government began the repatriation process on January 18, 2020.[5] Upon arrival in the Philippines, individuals underwent mandatory quarantine for 14 days.[6]

The Athlete's Village at the New Clark City Sports Hub which also has a clinic run by the Philippine General Hospital was chosen as the quarantine site for repatriated Filipinos and New Clark City was locked down on February 6, 2020, in preparation for the arrival of the repatriates.[7]

List of repatriations[edit]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Aside from the first ever repatriation, this list only includes flights involving at least 100 passengers for brevity.
Departure date Evacuees Departure airport Arrival airport Notes/References
February 9, 2020 30 China Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Clark Air Base [8]
February 25, 2020 309 Japan Tokyo Haneda Airport Clark Air Base Repatriates consist of 440 crew members and 5 tourists from the Diamond Princess.[9] The 445 Filipino repatriates were evacuated on two separate flights.[10]
136
March 7, 2020 167 Macau Macau International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [11]
March 14, 2020 444 United States San Francisco International Airport Clark Air Base Crew and passengers from the MV Grand Princess[12]
April 14, 2020 101 Indonesia Ahmad Yani International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [13]
April 18, 2020 167 Cambodia Phnom Penh International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [13]
May 3, 2020 198 Bahrain Bahrain International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport Includes 24 Overseas Filipino Workers from the Cayman Islands and single OFW from the Turks and Caicos Islands.[14]
June 10, 2020 128 Turkey Istanbul Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [15]
July 12, 2020 410 Lebanon Rafic Hariri International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [16]
August 16, 2020 410 Lebanon Rafic Hariri International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport [17]
August 22, 2020 257 Uzbekistan Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport First repatriation from Central Asia.[18][19]

From international conveyances[edit]

See also: COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs greets repatriates from M/V Grand Princess at Clark International Airport on March 16, 2020

Likewise, the Philippine government has repatriated Filipino seafarers, and to a lesser extent Filipino tourists, on board cruise ships in various countries and territories. The first of such effort was the repatriation of Filipino crew members and tourists on board the Diamond Princess in February 2020 which was quarantined off the coast of Yokohama due to confirmed COVID-19 infection.[20] 445 Filipinos (440 being crew members and 5 being passengers) were quarantined in New Clark City.[9]

Filipino nationals on board cruise ships docked in seaports in other countries such as the United States[21] and Italy[22] were also repatriated.

After completing a 14-day quarantine period, repatriated seafarers will be given aid by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Each will receive ₱10,000 from the OWWA and ₱20,000 livelihood grant will be made available to Filipino seafarers who opted to stay permanently in the Philippines.[9]

Domestic[edit]

"Hatid Probinsya" redirects here. For the program with a similar name, see Balik Probinsya.

The Hatid Probinsya para sa mga OFWs Program was established by the COVID-19 National Task Force, the Department of Transportation and other government agencies to facilitate the transport of repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers back to their home localities.[23][24][25][26] Another separate program of the national government is Balik Probinsya, which intends to encourage the migration of Metro Manila residents back to their home localities outside the metropolis for long-term settlement.[27] Balik Probinsya program was suspended on June 11 to prioritize stranded individuals.[28]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "30 Filipinos from nCoV-stricken Wuhan arrive in Philippines". ABS-CBN News. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Repatriations Update". Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines). April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Aning, Jerome (August 2, 2020). "Repatriation biggest ever in PH history". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Asaf, Seher (April 29, 2020). "Philippine Airlines to fly additional repatriation flights from Los Angeles, New York". Business Traveller. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "DFA Brings Home 30 Filipinos from Wuhan City". Department of Foreign Affairs. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "PH sending special flights to get Pinoys from Wuhan, Hubei in China". Tempo. January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Navales, Reynaldo (February 7, 2020). "Communities around New Clark City assured of safety, protection". Sun Star Pampanga. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "Philippines evacuates 30, including infant, from virus-hit Wuhan". Reuters. February 9, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Aquino, Leslie Ann (February 28, 2020). "400 Diamond Princess crew quarantined in New Clark City 0". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "DFA Successfully Brings Home 445 Filipinos from MV Diamond Princess". Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Marquez, Consuelo. "167 Filipinos evacuated from Macau to arrive in Manila". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "DFA Brings Home 444 Filipino Crew Members and Passengers Aboard MV Grand Princess from San Francisco, USA". Department of Foreign Affairs. March 16, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "AirAsia carries out repatriation flight to the Philippines". newsroom.airasia.com.
  14. ^ "PH Embassy in Manama Facilitates Repatriation of 198 OFWs from Bahrain Amid Flight Suspension".
  15. ^ "128 repatriated Filipinos arrive from Turkey". GMA News. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "410 more Pinoys repatriated from Lebanon". Malaya Business Insight. July 17, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "DFA: 410 Filipinos Depart Lebanon Today". PTV News. August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "257 Filipinos repatriated from Uzbekistan amid COVID-19 threat—DFA". GMA News. August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "257 Filipinos repatriated from Uzbekistan amid COVID-19 threat—DFA". GMA News. August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "Filipinos infected with coronavirus in ship climbs as PH plans for evacuation". CNN. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  21. ^ "DFA to Bring Home Filipinos Aboard the MV Grand Princess". Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  22. ^ de Guzman, Robie (March 30, 2020). "370 Filipino cruise ship workers from Italy back in PH". UNTV. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  23. ^ "DOTr - In response to the call of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to send our OFWs back to their provinces, the Department of Transportation joins the National Task Force for COVID-19, and concerned government agencies, in establishing the 'Hatid Probinsya para sa". dotr.gov.ph.
  24. ^ "Task force to speed up 'Hatid-Probinsiya,' 'Balik-Abroad' | Department of Labor and Employment". www.dole.gov.ph.
  25. ^ "'Hatid probinsya' beneficiary in Davao Oriental tests positive for COVID-19". Manila Bulletin.
  26. ^ "'Hatid Probinsya' brings home over 1K OFW in Soccsksargen". Philippine News Agency.
  27. ^ "Gov't to send off next 'Balik Probinsya' batch June 11–12". Philippine News Agency.
  28. ^ Moaje, Marita (June 11, 2020). "Gov't suspends Balik Probinsya; prioritizes stranded individuals". Philippine News Agency. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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