Wearing masks and observing social distancing, Overseas Filipinos from Rome and Florence queue as they await check-in at the Milan-Malpensa International Airport to board the DFA-chartered flight to repatriate them on 28 April 2020 to the Philippines. (Rome PE photo)

ROME 29 April 2020 - The Philippine Embassy in Rome, with the full support of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Consulate General in Milan, facilitated on 28 April 2020 the repatriation of 11 Filipinos from Rome and Florence as part of the DFA’s repatriation efforts for overseas Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The 11 repatriates consisted of seven Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), two minor dependents, and two student-priests. A number of them lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Their repatriation journey started with an eight-hour bus ride from the Philippine Embassy in Rome to Milan-Malpensa International Airport, where they joined 71 other repatriates from northern Italy to board the 28 April 2020 repatriation flight organized by the DFA. The Filipino repatriates, 82 in total, arrived in Manila today, 29 April 2020, at 1:53 PM (Philippine time) and are set to undergo a 14-day mandatory government-facility-based quarantine. END

Overseas Filipinos from Rome and Florence prepare for an eight-hour bus ride from the Philippine Embassy in Rome to Milan-Malpensa International Airport, where they will board the DFA-chartered flight to repatriate them on 28 April 2020 to the Philippines. (Rome PE photo)