MANILA—The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said most Filipinos in Ukraine were not interested in repatriation, instead choosing to observe the situation before they decide.

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said there were 141 Filipinos in Ukraine, but only 15 have expressed their intention to leave, while the rest are in a "wait and see" mode.

13 Filipinos, including one minor who fled from Ukraine are set to arrive at the NAIA Terminal 3 tonight

According to DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola, some 15 Filipinos are set to cross the border tomorrow from Lviv to Poland@ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/3OBBaFzUFN

— Anna Cerezo (@annacerezo_) March 1, 2022

She added that most of them were household service workers who wanted to stay with their employers.

"Most kasi are household workers who stay with their employers lalo na kung mababait. Lalo na kung malayo sa line of fire so they stay," Arriola added.

(Most of them are household workers who stay with their employers, especially those who treat them right. If they are far from the line of fire, they stay.)

Arriola also said most the Filipino workers in Ukraine are undocumented because the Philippine stopped the deployment of workers in 2014.

"They are in an irregular status. You have to get their consent. Kasi 'yung iba, pumasok na-traffic so we have laws so paalam lang tayo," she added.

(They are in an irregular status. You have to get their consent. Some were trafficked into Ukraine, so we have laws. We just have to ask permission.)

Aside from the workers, there were also Filipino students and workers.

Arriola said the DFA will continue to offer repatriation.

"Tuloy tuloy talaga. Actually, naexperience namin kahit with Libya and Syria, kahit mandatory pa 'yan, 'di lahat sumasama. The plan is to have continuous presence on ground as long as it is necessary and as long as papayagan. And ilikas ang gusto ilikas, and tulungan lahat ng kailangan tulungan," she said.

The other Filipinos in Ukraine were seafarers who just happen to be in the country when the crisis escalated.

A Filipino crewman was wounded after a cargo ship owned by a Japanese firm was hit by a missile off the coast of Ukraine in the Black Sea. Arriola said the ship has already left and is on its way to Istanbul in Turkey.

• Pinoy crewmember hurt after missile hits cargo ship off Ukraine

In an earlier interview, Arriola said some Filipinos married to Ukrainians were hesitant to leave.

• DFA: Some Pinoys with families in Ukraine concerned they’d be forcibly repatriated
• PH envoy meets with 40 Filipinos in Lviv for repatriation, DFA says

On Tuesday, the Philippine ambassador to Poland said 13 Filipinos from Ukraine were on their way home.

• Envoy: 13 Filipinos from war-torn Ukraine en route to Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier in the day said he would hold a special meeting regarding the grim developments in Europe, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, considered the biggest attack on a European country since the Second World War.

In a statement it will deliver to the United Nations General Assembly, the Philippines explicitly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and "strongly urge(s) the cessation of hostilities."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, targeting cities with weapons strikes. President Vladimir Putin confirmed the "military operation" supposedly to defend separatists in the east of the Ukraine.

The UN puts the civilian toll at 102, including 7 children.

More than 500,000 people have fled the conflict, it added.

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