The Philippine government yesterday said it will push through with the evacuation of Filipinos trapped in the raging violence in Syria despite a United Nations-backed April 10 ceasefire calling for a complete withdrawal of government troops and weapons.

A total of 22 female overseas Filipino workers will arrive in Manila in three batches this Wednesday, bringing to 1,243 the number of Filipinos moved to safety since civil strife erupted in the troubled Middle East state. Rebel forces have been demanding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom they accused of oppression and gross human-rights violations, to step down.

Reports said clashes have continued as the deadline neared its end with at least 100 people, mostly civilians, killed, prompting Philippine officials to reinvigorate its efforts to evacuate the thousands of remaining Filipinos in Syria.

“We are hoping that the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement will be honored by all parties,” Foreign Affairs Spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

“Nevertheless, we intend to continue with the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos while we assess the security situation in Syria,” he added.

Those returning this Wednesday are from the capital Damascus and who sought refuge at the Philippine embassy’s halfway house while Philippine officials negotiated with their employers and Syrian authorities for the issuance of exit visas.

The plane tickets of the latest batch of repatriates were paid for by the International Organization for Migration.

Manila is implementing alert level 4 in Syria, which requires the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos there in the face of escalating violence between government and opposition forces.

Manila estimated the number of Filipinos, working mostly as maids, to be a 10,000. 

Source: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120411nat3.html