8 Filipino medical workers in Libya to be repatriated

MANILA, Philippines - Eight Filipino medical workers fetched by a team from the Philippine embassy in Libya will soon be repatriated, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and embassy officials were able to fetch 10 OFWs, including eight Filipinos who were working in a hospital in Esbea, 45 kms south of Tripoli, on Sunday evening.

The 10 OFWs later boarded MC Azurra enroute to Benghazi.

“The day before yesterday, the team made a bold attempt to pick up our OFWs but when they reached the edge of the town leading to the destination in Esbea, they were advised by the rebels to turn back for fear that they might get hurt from the heavy fighting taking place,” Hernandez said in a text message.

He said the 35 OFWs who left Tripoli by an International Office of Migration-chartered boat last Aug. 25 and sailed from the port of Tripoli to Benghazi have arrived in Egypt. They were joined by two others who crossed the border earlier.

“Their onward repatriation to Manila is now being arranged by our embassy in Cairo,” he added.

Some OFWs from other workplaces could not be brought to the port because of heavy fighting in the streets of Tripoli.

The Philippine embassy in Damascus has already processed the exit visas of 108 OFWs and are now arranging for their expatriation.

“The efforts of the embassy to repatriate our OFWs require the need to negotiate with employers so that they will be allowed to leave by their employer and secure exit visas from the Syrian authorities,” Hernandez said.

The DFA earlier said that two OFWs from Syria were scheduled to arrive in Manila on Thursday by commercial airline.

The OFWs were repatriated not because of the situation and violence in Syria but because of immigration and labor problems.

The DFA has allocated $550,000 (P23 million) to be used in the event the political situation in Syria calls for the forced evacuation of the 17,000 OFWs there.

 At least 190 Filipinos have already expressed their desire to be repatriated, aside from the 58 who are already in the embassy waiting for their repatriation, and 25 others who are in detention centers in Syria.

Earlier, the DFA advised Filipinos not to travel to Syria due to continuing political tension there.

Under crisis alert level 3, voluntary repatriation at government’s expense will be offered to Filipinos who wish to leave Syria.

A deployment ban is put in place effective immediately in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The embassy has been closely monitoring developments in the country, and has briefed the members of the Filipino community on the embassy’s contingency plans.

Currently, the embassy is operating a 24/7 coordinating center, which also monitors the events in said country.

An augmentation team from the DFA also went to Syria to assist in the effort. 

Filipinos in Syria were advised to actively monitor developments, keep their communication lines open with the embassy and their community coordinators and inform them of their whereabouts, as well as restrict their movements only to those that are necessary.

Most of the 17,000 Filipinos in Syria were undocumented.