Gov’t warns situation in Lebanon still dangerous despite ceasefire

Government crisis managers warned Filipinos in Lebanon yesterday that the situation remains dangerous despite the ceasefire implemented between Israel forces and Hezbollah guerrillas.

The number of evacuees had begun to dwindle in the last few days as the ceasefire takes effect.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the government has intensified its information campaign to Filipinos, particularly those in southern Lebanon, through paid advertisements in at least three local newspapers and in the international Arabic network Al-Jazeera.

"A lot of them (Filipinos) feel more secure with the ceasefire. That is why the government is trying to counter that perception with a massive information campaign… it’s too early to be complacent," Conejos said.

The residents in southern Lebanon where the fighting was heaviest were just beginning to return to their homes because of the ceasefire but Conejos said the government would still want to bring the overseas workers home.

Conejos said the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration had estimated that it would have to continue working for the evacuation of foreign nationals from Lebanon in the next six months.

Philippine diplomats made appeals in Lebanese radio stations while Ambassador to Beirut Al Francis Bichara made a similar pitch over The Filipino Channel of ABS-CBN.

According to Conejos, Ambassador Roy Cimatu, the country’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, sent him a text message yesterday informing him that no Filipinos were present in the pre-agreed "collection center" in the town of Sidon in southern Lebanon.

Calls to Filipinos in their places of work were also not answered and there are no more calls to the Philippine Embassy from Filipinos requesting that they be fetched.

Conejos, however, said it is possible that many Filipinos in southern Lebanon were not aware of the existence of the "collection centers" as their employers, at the start of the conflict, have brought them to safer areas "in the mountains."

The government estimated that there are as many as 2,000 Filipinos remaining in southern Lebanon.

Conejos earlier said government evacuation personnel led by Cimatu would be venturing for the first time into Hezbollah-controlled territory in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.

"There is always difficulty. We’re encountering problems to get to them. That’s why we are doing everything to get our message across," Conejos said.

As of yesterday, there were an additional 150 Filipinos brought from Lebanon to Damascus, Syria waiting for a flight to Manila.