DFA still confirming report on Filipinos affected by Maui wildfire
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not confirmed if Filipinos were among the 80 casualties or 1,000 missing in the Maui wildfire in Hawaii, which has raged since Tuesday.
The Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce earlier said hundreds of Filipinos were among the missing.
In an interview with dzBB Sunday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said: ''There is is still no news. Eighty people died. We still don't have confirmation that there were Filipinos.''
“Seventeen percent of their population is composed of Filipino-Americans. There are 1,000 individuals but we cannot conclude if they have died or were injured because the problem is that they do not have an internet connection. So we are checking the data,” De Vega said.
“We think that within the next 24 hours, we will get clearer data on this,” he added.
According to De Vega, the wildfire in Maui are under control and residents are allowed to return to their homes.
De Vega said Consul General Emil Fernandez told him that the missing Filipinos have been evacuated or could not be contacted but none of them have been moved to Honolulu. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
