MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday raised Alert Level 2 for Filipinos in Sri Lanka due to the security situation in that country but clarified that there is no evacuation plan yet.
"The Department, in coordination with the office of the Philippine Honorary Consul General in Colombo, will be providing the needed assistance to Filipinos severely affected by the crisis. The Department would like to emphasize that there are no plans yet to evacuate Filipinos from Sri Lanka at this time," it said in an advisory.
Based on its latest data, there are more than 500 Filipinos in Sri Lanka.
Alert Level 2 is issued when there are "real threats to the life, security, and property of Filipinos arising from an internal disturbance in or external threat to the host country."
Under this classification, there will be no new deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Sri Lanka, and only those with existing employment contracts are allowed to return to the country.
The advisory came days after thousands of protesters stormed the official residence of former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had been blamed for the spiraling economic crisis in the country.
The DFA said no Filipino has so far been reported injured due to the mass protests.
Meanwhile, it reminded Filipinos there to stay in their residence as much as possible, avoid areas where there are protests, and refrain from joining the mass action for their safety and well-being.
The United Nations said Sri Lanka’s multiple crises have been exacerbated by the pandemic "which saw the collapse of the crucial tourism industry, which provides foreign currency for imported fuel and medical supplies, and rocked by the supply chain crisis precipitated by the Ukraine war."
Some 22 percent of the population, it said, are currently short of food and in dire need of assistance. (PNA)
