ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/10 September) – One hundred seventy-three deportees from Malaysia arrived here over the weekend bringing to 5,186 the total number of undocumented Filipinos deported from that country since January this year.
This came about as the Malaysian government continues its crackdown against illegal migrants.
Jamila Arasid, head of the Center for Processing and Displaced Persons of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office, today said that of the 173 deportees, 119 were males, 43 were females and 11 were children.
They arrived at the Zamboanga port shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday aboard the commercial ferry that plies the Zamboanga-Malaysia route via Sandakan in the State of Sabah twice a week, Arasid said.
She said the deportees were immediately taken to the Center for Processing and Displaced Persons in Barangay Talon-Talon where they will be sheltered before they will be sent home to their provinces.
The deportees are from the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga Peninsula, and other parts of Mindanao.
Arasid said it was the second time last week that Filipinos deported from Malaysia arrived in the city.
The first group numbered 120 and arrived here last Wednesday aboard the same vessel, she added.
A total of 5,186 undocumented Filipinos have been deported by the Malaysian government since January this year, 4,893 of them during the first six months, she said. (MindaNews)