Pinoys in Australia safe – Palace

Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2020 17:02:10 +0000

Malacañang on Monday assured the public the government had taken steps to ensure the safety of Filipinos as catastrophic bushfires continue to blaze across Australia.

A woodchip mill burnt by bushfires is seen as smoke rises in Quaama in Australia’s New South Wales state on January 6, 2020. Reserve troops were deployed to fire-ravaged regions across three Australian states on January 6 after a torrid weekend that turned swathes of land into smouldering, blackened hellscapes. / AFP / SAEED KHAN

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo reported that about 300 Filipinos had been evacuated.

“We understand that about 300 Filipinos have been evacuated from that area. So, ginagawa ng ating pamahalaan ang mga hakbangin upang mapanatiling ligtas ang ating mga kababayan sa nagaganap na conflagration doon (The government is taking all measures to ensure the safety of our countrymen because of the conflagration there),” he told reporters.

Australia is home to around 300,000 Filipinos. Of this number, 75,000 are workers and students and the rest are permanent migrants, according to Aian Caringal, consul general of the Philippine Embassy in Canberra.

In a television interview, Caringal said Philippine officials were coordinating with Australian officials on the plight of the evacuated Filipinos.

“The 300 Filipinos are already being attended to by the local government and have been given temporary housing and been given emergency relief,” Caringal said.

He said 24 people have been killed since the start of this year’s wildfire season, but none of them were Filipinos.

“If there would be any request, we are ready to attend to the request and repatriate our kababayan workers as soon as possible,” Caringal added.

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