RIYADH — A third batch of 43 Filipinos and one Yemeni spouse of a Filipino national crossed the Yemeni-Saudi border at Tuwal on the Saudi side, constituting the 3rd batch of Filipino evacuees from Yemen recently. The third batch brings the total to 383 Filipinos and 3 Yemeni spouses or 386 evacuated since April 5. This batch included 31 adult males, 11 adult females, and two minor children. The Filipinos evacuees originated from the Yemeni cities of Hodeidah, Taiz, Aden and Hajjah and converged in the western coastal city of Hodeidah. The evacuees left Hodeidah in one bus and were led by Philippine Embassy Attache Mel Balladolid and Philippine Honorary Consul Mohamad Al-Jamal. So far, the Crisis Management Team in Yemen composed of DFA officers and personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah have organized 3 batches of land evacuations of Filipinos and Yemeni spouse. The first group included 99 that left Yemen on April 5, followed by a group of 243 from the capital Sanaa on April 6, and then on April 7 the third batch of 44 originating from Hodeidah. The Philippine government has provided accommodations for the evacuees in Jazan, and is arranging their repatriation flights to the Philippines. The Philippine Embassy had arranged for 90 evacuees to leave Jazan for Manila on April 8. This is the first group that returned safely to the Philippines. — SG
