Gov’t charters ship for OFWs in war-torn Libya

MANILA, Philippines - A ship contracted by the Philippine government to fetch overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya is expected to arrive in the strife-torn country on Thursday or Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the ship, which can carry 1,500 passengers, would be arriving in Libya to pick up OFWs and bring them to Malta by Sunday.

Extraction points identified by the DFA are Benghazi and Misrata, but Tripoli may also be included.

Jose said 200 OFWs staying at the Philippine embassy in Tripoli are waiting to be repatriated.

However, Filipino medical workers are under pressure to remain in hospitals in Libya as 60 percent of hospital staff are from the Philippines.

“If the medical staff from Philippines will all leave, the medical services will be paralyzed so (Libyan authorities) are asking the Filipino medical workers to stay,” Jose said in Filipino.

“If the will of the Philippine government will be done, we will take the last and every Filipino out,” he added.

Labor attaché David Des Dicang said yesterday that 49 OFWs are expected to arrive in the Philippines today and another batch of 42 is scheduled to return to the country tomorrow.

The 64 OFWs who availed of the government’s repatriation program also arrived in separate batches at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday night, Dicang added.

The group of OFWs scheduled to arrive in Manila is among the last batches able to travel by land. Jose said that after the OFWs left Libya, all borders have been closed “so the only way out is by sea.”

“As of yesterday, 888 OFWs have returned from Libya since the government raised the crisis alert level and ordered a mandatory repatriation of Filipinos,” Dicang said.

But based on the number of OFWs who have availed of the repatriation program, there are still more than 11,000 who have opted to brave the dangers in Libya, the DFA said.

“We can only make conjectures but what we usually hear is that they would rather take the chance. They think they could have better chances of surviving the war than surviving the uncertainty of not having any work here,” Jose said.

But Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said returning OFWs from Libya and other countries faced with crisis have the option to stay for good in the Philippines by availing of the government’s various programs that would provide them alternative sources of livelihood. They can also opt for local employment. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos