12 jailed OFWs back from Lebanon

Twelve overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday afternoon after languishing in jail for more than nine months in Lebanon due to expired travel documents.

The 12 female OFWs, who worked as domestic helpers in Lebanon, arrived via Emirates Airlines flight EK-332 at around 4 p.m.

They were met by Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Alipio Fernandez and BI-NAIA supervisor Ferdinand Sampol, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Former Albay Gov. Francis Bichara and his cousin Joseph Bichara, who were with the 12 OFWs, accompanied the workers on their journey back to the Philippines.

The Bichara cousins reportedly helped in negotiating for the release of the 12 OFWs who were jailed by Lebanese authorities for expired travel documents.

In an interview with The STAR, Berth Salvador, DFA representative, said all of the 12 workers have expired travel documents such as resident permits and working visas.

Salvador said that an OFW working in Lebanon has to secure a residence permit before he or she is allowed to work. A residence permit could be valid up to a year.

The workers, he said, may have been sent to jail when immigration authorities in Lebanon found out that the Filipino workers‘ permits were not renewed. He added that the visas may have been checked by the immigration authorities and found out to be also expired.

A visa can only be renewed once the employer request it for the worker.

Salvador said that in Lebanon several checkpoints were set up by the government not only to secure the areas but also to monitor illegal aliens. They are manned by military as well as immigration authorities. – Sandy Araneta