A TOTAL of 31 Filipinos who were apprehended in Indonesia were sent back to Davao City on Friday, April 20.
Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) Public Information Officer Major Ezra Balagtey said that the repatriated Filipinos were onboard the Philippine Navy fleet BRP Davao Del Sur and were transferred to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) ship along Sarangani Bay to bring them to Davao City.
These Filipinos caught were mostly for illegal fishing and encroaching to the Indonesian territorial waters, over staying, and illegal entry.
The welcome ceremony of the repatriated Filipinos was attended by Special Assistant to the President Lawrence Christopher "Bong" Go at around 11 a.m. at Naval Station Felix Apolinario (NSFA), Panacan, Davao City.
Likewise, present during the activity were regional directors of government agencies including National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Davao director Ma. Lourdes Lim and representatives from Sarangani province.
Lieutenant General Benjamin Madrigal, commander of Eastmincom, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs, initiated the repatriation.
Madrigal received the repatriates during the opening of Philippine-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol in Manado Indonesia from Commodore Antonio Toribio, skipper of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) ship.
The repatriates underwent quarantine prior to their disembarkation from BFAR Ship Lapu Lapu. The Bureau of Immigration also processed their travel papers.
The Philippine government has given them cash assistance, food packs and farm inputs. They were handed over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for their return to their respective communities and other assistance.
It can be recalled that last year, there were also 41 Filipinos, majority of who were fishermen, who were repatriated from Indonesia by the Philippine Navy.