MANILA, Philippines—The government Tuesday suspended the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, and said it was prepared to evacuate Filipinos wishing to flee strife-torn Libya, particularly the city of Benghazi. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said licensed recruitment agencies had assured her they were prepared to redeploy OFWs in Libya to other countries.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Filipinos who want to leave Libya may apply for voluntary repatriation with the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli.
Esteban Conejos, foreign undersecretary for migrant workers’ concerns, advised Filipinos to contact community leaders should they wish to leave Libya.
So far, there have been no reports of Filipinos hurt in protests in Tripoli and other places where violent demonstrations have occurred, he said.
30,000 OFWs
Conejos advised Filipinos employed by big companies to join their repatriation programs, if that option was open to them.
The DFA said it had remitted $150,000 for the operational costs of the repatriation program and sent a quick response team to the embassy in Tripoli to oversee the arrangements.
Conejos said there are 30,000 Filipinos in Libya, half of whom are based in Tripoli, and 10,000 more in Benghazi and Al-Baida, which have also been the sites of violent clashes.
Unlike Egypt and Lebanon, where the Filipino community is composed mostly of domestic workers, Filipino expatriates in Libya are mostly professionals, like doctors, nurses, engineers, IT specialists and semi-skilled workers employed by multinationals, Conejos said.
The DFA said there was so far no voluntary repatriation program for Filipinos in Yemen, Bahrain and Algeria, where there have also been reports of widespread civil unrest.
Children first
Carlos Cao Jr., the head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, said the decision to evacuate Filipinos who wanted to leave Libya was made in consultation with the DFA.
“This is the first step in their repatriation similar to what we did in Egypt, where the evacuation system was voluntary. Usually, it’s the children who are prioritized,” Cao said.
He said that the labor department had not called for the evacuation of OFWs in Tripoli because “the situation there is not as serious as in Benghazi.”
Phillip Tubeza & DJ Yap, Phil. Daily Inquirer
