DFA not sending team to Sri Lanka, assures aid for Pinoys

On top of this, the DFA is set to give at least USD300 per distressed Filipino as immediate relief. (File photo by Lawrence Ruiz – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has recalled its order to send a rapid response team (RRT) from Manila to crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Saturday instructed Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola to order the recall but assured allocation of funds for distressed Filipino would push through.

“[R]ecall them; false report from limp wrist liberals; but we’re sending funds; make sure courier doesn’t pocket it. Got the news,” he posted on Twitter, replying to Arriola’s earlier tweet announcing the RRT to facilitate the repatriation of Filipinos.

In a previous tweet, Locsin requested for a “true report”, noting that there are not many Filipinos and most are married to Sri Lankans.

Arriola earlier posted a photo of Philippine Honorary Consul in Colombo, High Sriyal Dissanayake, welcoming two officials from the Philippine Embassy.

According to the agency, only the team from DFA was recalled, and the RRT from the Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh, which holds jurisdiction over Sri Lanka, is already there.

The Embassy team would stay to assist in the repatriation and process the papers of Filipinos, including the children of those married to Sri Lankans.

On top of this, the DFA is set to give at least USD300 per distressed Filipino as immediate relief.

Based on the DFA’s latest count, there are at least 492 Filipinos in the Asian nation.