MANILA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen Filipino fishing boat captains, who had been jailed in Indonesia for fishing illegally in their waters, have been repatriated to home country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines confirmed on Wednesday.
The Philippine DFA said the fishermen were released to officials of the Consulate General after serving jail terms of from five months to three years after they were arrested for illegal fishing.
The Philippine DFA said in a statement that earlier this week, the Philippine Consulate General in Manado also repatriated five other Filipinos, who were held for overstaying.
"Before leaving for the Philippines, the boat captains expressed their appreciation for the welfare assistance to them while they were in prison," Philippine Consul General Oscar Orcine said.
He added the boat captains were also given welfare assistance of 5,000 pesos (roughly 93.66 U.S. dollars) each before boarding their flight home.
Orcine said the Consulate General also assisted the other five repatriates from two families in returning to the Philippines.
He said the Consulate General successfully lobbied with Indonesian authorities in getting the five released simultaneously.
