The Office of the President confirms that two chartered flights, carrying 445 Filipino crew members and passengers of the MV Diamond Princess cruise ship, have arrived safely in the Philippines.

The planes landed last night in Clark Air Base and upon the arrival of the repatriated Filipinos, they were immediately brought to the New Clark City Quarantine Facility.

We thank the Japanese Government for the assistance they gave to our countrymen and their close cooperation with Filipino officials to ensure that the needs of our kababayans have been addressed.

Let us pray for this second batch of repatriates, as well as of the members of the repatriation team, and hope that everything will turn out well.