 Image by DigitalGlobe-Imagery via Flickr |
| Earthquake and Tsunami damage |
A March 17, 2011 press release by the Department of Foreign Affairs
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the two buses sent Thursday afternoon to fetch Filipinos have reached Fukushima and are on their way back to Tokyo.The buses left at 2 p.m. (Japan time) and fetched Filipinos along the way.
The first bus led by the Embassy’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Colonel Inocencio G. Silbol and Consular Assistant and Attaché Emmanuel E. Austria went to Fukushima Nishi and Fukushima City and fetched some 43 Filipinos there.The second bus led by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ryan Pondoc and Administrative Assistant Ricardo T. Arrangote picked up 15 Filipinos from Koriyama City and Koriyama Interchange.
The Filipinos will be temporarily housed at the Lighthouse Ministry in Yokohama City and at the Franciscan Church in Roppongi in Tokyo.
Ambassador Lopez stated that the Embassy is also prepared to send more buses if necessary.
“The priority right now are the Filipinos in Fukushima,” he said.
Earlier, the Embassy reported that 43 Filipinos arrived in Tokyo Wednesday. They were relocated by the Embassy consular team in Fukushima prefecture and Sendai city led by Consul General Sulpicio Confiado, who proceeded to Sendai city last Tuesday with a bus which brought relief goods to the area. They are now housed at a Catholic Church in Kichijogi.
The DFA also reiterated its call to Filipinos in Japan to heed all advisories in the light of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami which struck the northeast region of the country.
In its statement issued Wednesday, the DFA urged all Filipinos who are within the 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to evacuate immediately, if they have not done so, and those within the 20 to 30-kilometer radius of said facility to stay indoors, in line with the advisories issued by Japanese authorities.
Those within or near the Fukushima Daiini nuclear power plant should also observe the 10-kilometer exclusion zone.
Similarly, Filipinos in the area are urged to monitor and follow any further advisories of the Japanese Government.
The DFA further stated that Filipinos who are concerned about possible radiation exposure may wish to voluntarily relocate to areas further away, or depart voluntarily from the country using their own means.
If, as determined by Japanese officials, relocation and repatriation become necessary, the Philippine Government will defray the cost to undertake the required measures to either relocate or repatriate Filipinos from the affected areas.
The Philippine Embassy is there to ensure the safety and to serve the needs of Filipinos in Japan.
In his telephone conversations with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario, Ambassador Lopez said, “we are fully committed to remain here to serve the needs of Filipinos in Japan.”
The hotline numbers at the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs’ Crisis Management Center are 834-4646 and 834-4580. Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address
dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com.
dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com.
Filipinos may contact the following Embassy numbers in cases of emergency: (03)5562-1573, (03)5562-1574, (03)5562-1570, (03)5562-1590. The Embassy can also be reached by email through:emergency@philembassy.net.
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