THE first batch of Filipinos repatriated from Japan arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The government spent some $200,000 for the repatriation of the evacuees, most of them residing within 100 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
Accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez, the 44 Filipinos returned home on a Philippine Airlines flight from Nagoya.
The first batch of Filipino evacuees was welcomed by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and some officials of the NAIA.
Lopez said there are still many Filipinos living within 100 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai ichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by a magnitude-9 quake and tsunami last March 11.
Aiko, 35-year-old wife of a Japanese businessman with three kids, said that she feared for the health of her children that is why she immediately took the repatriation offer of the government.
“Bilang isang ina siyempre ang kapakanan ng mga anak mo ang una sa lahat. Mahirap ng makipagsapalaran kung may kasama kang mga anak. Walang problema kung ako lang kasi kaya kong kayanin ano man ang epekto ng lindol sa naapektuhang nuclear plant,” she said.
It was learned that there are 2,000 Filipinos residing within the 100 kilometer radius from the Daiichi plant.
