THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it received requests for assistance from the families of at least five Filipinos trapped in the middle of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The unidentified Filipinos were reportedly recruited online to work as truck drivers but ended up working for the Russian military.
DFA spokesman Angelica Escalona said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, which includes the DFA and the Department of Migrant Workers, is addressing the matter.
“In the DFA, we have five active requests for assistance involving Filipinos fighting in the conflict [between Russia and Ukraine],” Escalona said in a radio interview Monday.
She also confirmed that Filipino Raymon Gumangan is a prisoner of war in Ukraine after Ukrainian forces caught him fighting for Russia.
Escalona also confirmed the death of a certain John Patrick, a Filipino “mercenary,” in Ukraine.
“The DFA already talked with their families. But we will not be able to share details at the request of the family,” she added.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo earlier asked Ukraine to allow Gumangan to communicate with his family in the Philippines.
The senator made the appeal through the Ambassador of Ukraine to Manila Yuliia Fediv, when she paid him a courtesy call last week.
Gumangan was reportedly captured by Ukrainian forces while serving under the Russian military.
Gumangan’s family said that he had originally secured employment as a “logistics truck driver” through an online job portal.
Fediv committed to facilitating a way for Gumangan to reach his family.