ZAMBOANGA CITY—The city government and concerned government agencies have prepared contingency measures as thousands of deportees are expected to arrive through the Zamboanga port within the next few weeks as a result of the ongoing massive crackdown of undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said he met Thursday with representatives from the different agencies and several measures have been planned in handling the arrival of the deportees.

Lobregat said government officials who attended the meeting have requested for an immediate government-to-government negotiation for the orderly and properly coordinated deportation of undocumented Filipinos, which should be done on a “manageable level.”

Felicitas Arevalo, director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for Western Mindanao, informed Lobregat that a total of 1,500 deportees are expected to arrived in this city in the next two weeks.

The first batch of 250 arrived aboard the MV Danica Joy of Aleson Shipping Lines on Wednesday, and another 250 arrived on Saturday.

Lobregat tasked the different government agencies such as the DSWD, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Health, Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration and Bureau of Immigration with making the repatriation of the deportees orderly and “less painful.”

Lobregat will also meet with the governors of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to address the imminent crisis resulting from the mass deportation of undocumented Filipinos from Malaysia.

He said 70 percent of the deportees who arrived through the Zamboanga port are from the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Lobregat said the deportees who are from the three provinces should be immediately sent to their places of origin upon arrival.

Yahya Centi, officer in charge of the labor department’s regional office, said the Dole will give livelihood programs to the deportees for them to start a living when they reach their homes.

Centi said the livelihood programs, which are aimed at preventing the deportees from returning to Malaysia, will be handled by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, an attached agency of the Dole, and other agencies.

He said thousands have been deported during the first half of this year from Malaysia.

However, he said many of the deportees managed to return to Sabah through the southern backdoor.

Undersecretary for migrant affairs Esteban Conejos earlier estimated that there are at least 200,000 Filipinos in Malaysia, most of them undocumented.

Most of them are working in plantations, construction sites and other trades.

Conejos said an average of 10,000 Filipinos are deported each year from Sabah to the Philippines through this city, but the number of deportees is expected to sharply increase with the new plan of Malaysia to deport thousands of illegal migrants in Sabah right away.

Lobregat urged concerned regional offices here to immediately request for additional funding from their respective head offices for the needed expenses in handling the arrival of the deportees.

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