Ukrainian service members look for unexploded shells after fighting with a Russian raiding team in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the morning of Feb. 26, 2022, according to Ukrainian service personnel at the scene. (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Sunday appealed to the faithful to pray for the people in Ukraine, saying it shared Pope Francis’ pain over Ukraine’s suffering due to Russia’s invasion.
“No one enjoys war except those who make money in the arms industry and benefit from the conflict among nations,” CBCP president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said in a statement.
The CBCP reiterated the appeal of Pope Francis to pray and fast on March 2, Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season.
“The CBCP is one with Pope Francis in his grief over the worsening condition of Ukraine,” David said, noting how the start of attacks happened on the same day that the Philippines commemorated the 36th anniversary of the bloodless uprising that restored democracy in the country.
“The Philippines served as an inspiration for many countries dreaming of liberty but are afraid of (achieving this) through bloody means,” he said.
“Now, Ukraine citizens are asking for prayers, especially the Catholic faithful who are located there,” David added.
The Caloocan bishop urged the Catholics to pray that the Russians would take a step to put an end to the conflict that its government had started.
In an unprecedented move, Pope Francis on Friday went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See and met with the ambassador to discuss the invasion.
“He went to express his concern over the war,” Matteo Bruni, Vatican spokesperson, told Reuters.
Filipinos choose to stay
Many Filipinos, mostly household workers and spouses of Ukrainians, are hesitant to leave Ukraine despite Russia’s ongoing invasion, according to an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“[T]here are a lot of Filipinos reaching out to us, but they don’t really want to go home to the Philippines,” Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said in an interview with radio station dzBB on Sunday.
She said some Filipinos preferred to stay because of their good working conditions in Ukraine while others did not want to leave behind their Ukrainian spouses, and were still hoping that the situation would get better.
“[E]specially the household service workers, they don’t want to leave because they have kind employers, so they were staying with them. If their employers would not leave, they’re also not leaving,” Arriola said.
“Other Filipinos couldn’t leave because of their Ukrainian husbands who were not allowed to leave the country. They don’t want their families to be separated,” she added.
The DFA on Saturday reported that a group of more than 40 Filipinos has evacuated from Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv to Lviv, a city near the border of Poland, awaiting repatriation.
‘We’ll get them home safe’
On Sunday, however, Arriola said only 13 of them arrived at the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne Border Crossing Station in Poland where Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. welcomed them as seen in a video shared by the DFA.
Locsin arrived in Poland after attending the EU Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in Paris. He was accompanied by Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Jaime Victor Ledda.
Philippine Ambassador to Poland Leah Basinang-Ruiz, who is also overseeing the repatriation of the Filipinos in Ukraine, led the evacuation of the affected Filipinos.
“We are on high-alert 24/7 to ensure that Filipinos are safe in this conflict. Our embassies in Poland and Hungary have been working hard these past days to account for each Filipino in Ukraine and to repatriate them as soon as possible. Our people only need to ask, and we will get them home safe,” Locsin said in a statement.
Food and bottled water were distributed to the evacuees, the DFA added.
Apart from the 13 Filipinos who evacuated to Poland, Arriola said five more who crossed Ukraine to Moldova and four others in Lviv were also awaiting repatriation to the Philippines. Six Filipinos from Ukraine were already in the Philippines.
Arriola also said that there were about 8,000 Filipinos in Russia, mostly household service workers.
“So far, there is really no need to evacuate them,” the DFA official added.
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