366 Pinoy workers arrive from Libya

MANILA, Philippines –  Another batch of 366 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their children arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 on board a Philippine Airlines chartered flight from Crete at around 1:20 a.m. yesterday, bringing to around 7,000 those who have already been evacuated.

The OFWs were met by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senate committee chairman on labor, and Vivienne Tan, executive vice president of Philippine Airlines and daughter of owner Lucio Tan.

Estrada was on hand to welcome the OFWs with a promise to look after their welfare, urging the private sector and the government to help them find employment. He also distributed food for the adults and chocolate for the children.

“We cannot do anything at the moment but wait for developments in the Middle East. We hope that things would soon stabilize,” he said.

Tan was accompanied by PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Carmelita Dimzon, and NAIA 2 manager Cecilo Bobila.

Tan said the flag carrier, upon hearing the need to airlift the OFWs from Libya, immediately prepared two airplanes, but the documentation needed to obtain landing permits, overfly permits and other requirements needed to fly to a foreign airport delayed the process.

“Now that you are here, we are glad that you arrived safely and were able to rest during the 14-hour flight,” she said. The passengers applauded in appreciation.

Another B-777 with 368 passengers was scheduled to arrive last night, also from Crete, part of three planeloads that airlifted the 1,500 OFWs who fled Libya aboard the MV Ionian Queen.

It took 33 hours to reach Crete, an island in the Mediterranean, prior to their transfer to three chartered airplanes, two of them from PAL.

As of yesterday, the government had already repatriated 7,830 OFWs, and had given P10,000 each to 6,457 workers, according to Dimzon.

The government is expected to lose some P2.9 billion in remittances this year, out of the $18 billion it received last year from OFW remittances around the world.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the evacuation of Filipinos in Libya is expected to be completed by next week after evacuating the bulk of them from Tripoli, Benghazi and other coastal cities.

But the DFA may not be able to get the others out of the strife-torn country if they continue to insist on staying. –  With Pia Lee-Brago, Mayen Jaymalin, Aurea Calica, Jose Rodel Clapano