Kuala Lumpur, 18 August 2021 – The Philippine Embassy in Malaysia mounted a chartered repatriation flight, which departed Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, to send home one hundred seventy-eight (178) Filipinos via Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 8626 bound for Manila.
The passengers, most of whom are returning OFWs, have been stranded in Malaysia due to the cancellation of commercial flights, when the travel ban was imposed for travelers from Malaysia last month.
“Today’s repatriation was the first chartered flight organized by the Embassy this year, as part of our ongoing efforts to assist Filipinos, who are affected by the lockdown and the travel ban,” Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Charles Jose said. “The Embassy will continue to monitor the situation of our nationals on the ground so we can extend appropriate assistance.”
The special chartered flight was fully funded by the Philippine Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
OFs Natividad and Rosalindo Salon were among the passengers on the flight. They are from Sarawak but have been stranded in Kuala Lumpur since the travel ban was imposed: “Naghintay po kami ng flight dahil na-stranded po kami; galing pa kami sa Sarawak. Nagpapasalamat po kami sa Philippine Embassy at sa Department of Foreign Affairs na tinulungan po kami.”
Since the lockdown was first imposed in Malaysia in March last year, the Embassy opened more channels, such as additional emergency hotlines and online assistance forms, for distressed Filipinos to submit their requests for assistance, including repatriation assistance.
OF Maria Necita Rivera de la Cruz was among those who submitted her request for assistance via these channels: “Nag-apply lang po ako [para sa] chartered flight at nagpapasalamat ako sa tulong na ibinigay ng Embahada dahil tinugon po nila yung hiningi ko na makauwi ng Pilipinas para makasama ko [ang] pamilya ko.”
Aside from the flight, the Embassy also arranged the conduct of the RT-PCR testing for all passengers in compliance with the mandatory requirement for government-organized repatriation flights.
Passengers who still needed to secure exit passes under the Recalibration Repatriation Program (RRP) of the Malaysian Immigration Department were also provided assistance by the Embassy.
Before embarkation, all passengers were also provided with N95 face masks and face shields.
Upon arrival in Manila, all passengers are expected to undergo mandatory swab and quarantine in designated facilities, in accordance with protocols being implemented by the Philippine Government for all international arrivals.
Filipinos in Malaysia who are in need of assistance from the Embassy are advised to get in touch with the Embassy using any of the following:
Emergency Hotlines:
Email:
Scan this QR Code to access the Embassy’s Online Assistance Request Form:
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For more information, please contact:
Embassy of the Philippines (Attention: Information Section)
1 Jalan Changkat Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur 50450 Malaysia
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel No. +603 2148 4233
Fax No. +603 2148 3576