THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said that 100 of the almost 300 Filipino crew members of M/V Costa Concordia which keeled over off the coast of Grosseto, Tuscany last Friday, are coming home today.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said, the Filipino crew members boarded two airlines: Cathay Pacific that is expected at 10 a.m. and Thai Airways at 3 p.m. as confirmed by the Philippine Embassy in Rome and Magsaysay Shipping Lines.
The other day, the DFA said the 296 Filipino crew are safe, accounted for, and are due for repatriation. Three other Filipino crew were confined in a hospital in Grosseto after they suffered injuries due to bad shake/fall from decks.
Costa Crociere S.P.A, the company which owns the cruise ship, provided the official list of the Filipino crew members to the embassy’s Emergency Response Team and assured the team that it will give full compensation to the Filipino crew members, refund their lost belongings, replace their lost cash, and issue a formal letter of undertaking detailing the company’s firm commitment.
The Philippine Embassy issued travel documents to the Filipino crew members at the La Fattoria, Granduca and Terme hotels in Grosetto to facilitate their repatriation.
Philippine Ambassador to Italy Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. dispatched a seven-man embassy Emergency Response Team, led by Consul General Grace Cruz-Fabella, to provide the necessary assistance to Filipino nationals and Filipino crew members on board the cruise ship Costa Concordia when it ran aground and keeled over off the coast of Grosseto, Tuscany.
The ship hit rocks and started to keel over late Friday on the western coast of Italy as it began a Mediterranean cruise.
It was earlier reported that around 4,000 people were on board the vessel. The ship had a crew of 1,000.
The Costa Concordia, a 1,500-cabin luxury vessel, is one of the largest ships of Costa Cruises.
Published : Tuesday February 21, 2012 | Category : OFW | Views : 118
By : Willy Balasa
THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) yesterday said they will extend assistance to the family of a Filipina household worker who was recently found dead in Hong Kong . OWWA Administrator Carmelita S. Dimzon said the family of Rowena Gloria Gomez, who was an OWWA member, will receive death and... Read more
Published : Saturday February 11, 2012 | Category : OFW | Views : 372
TWO Filipinos were arrested in Macau for alleged drug trafficking, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said. Thus, the DFA reiterated its appeal to all Filipinos to avoid accepting offers from individuals or groups to carry illegal drugs in their luggages or in their person when going abroad in... Read more
Published : Saturday February 11, 2012 | Category : OFW | Views : 374
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday confirmed that a Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged bulk carrier with 21 Filipino seamen on board was seized by Somali pirates. Citing reports from Armed Forces of the Philippines’ liaiason officer to the Combined Maritime Forces based in Manama, Bahrain, the 21 Filipino crewmen were at... Read more
Published : Friday February 10, 2012 | Category : OFW | Views : 245
ANOTHER batch of 41 Filipino nationals, mostly overseas Filipino workers, arrived yesterday at the NAIA from strife-torn Syria and more are expected to come home in the coming days. Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration chief Carmelita Dimzon said the repatriated workers have availed of the mandatory repatriation program of the... Read more
Published : Wednesday February 08, 2012 | Category : OFW | Views : 314
THE government continues to repatriate stranded, distressed and displaced overseas Filipino workers, most of them undocumented, from Lebanon. Around 10:10 a.m., Gulf Air flight GF 154 touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with the 54 abused and maltreated returning Filipino workers. Most of them were penniless and, ... Read more
