In the Philippines, Secretary Albert del Rosario directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to evacuate all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) currently in the port city of Benghazi by Saturday, March 5.

“We're setting a date for ourselves to get people out of that coastal area (in Libya). By Saturday it is our target to take all the people out,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Wednesday.

For those in the central and western areas of Libya, Del Rosario said they are advised to stay there and wait for help from the DFA.

The MV Ionian Queen, a ship chartered by the Philippine government, evacuated 1,290 Filipinos and their families from Benghazi. But Labor and Employment Communications Director Nicon Fameronag said 1,000 other OFWs refused to be repatriated – with 500 of them deciding to stay put in Libya while 500 others, mostly medical practitioners, opting to cross to Alexandria, Egypt.

Diplomats said more than 100,000 Asian workers are believed to be stranded in the fighting around Moamer Khadafy’s clampdown. About 26,000 people from the Philippines, 25,000 from Thailand, more than 50,000 Bangladeshis, 18,000 Indians and thousands from China, Nepal and Vietnam are still trapped.

China used a navy frigate in a massive sea and air operation to bring out about 30,000 people from the strife but envoys from other nations said they need international help.

Thailand's UN ambassador Norachit Sinhaseni told a UN General Assembly debate there are about 25,000 Thai workers and students in Libya. About 2,000 of them were brought out on a chartered ship on Monday.

“Despite this massive and complex operation, the 2,000 represents only a fraction of the total number of Thais in Tripoli,” the ambassador told the assembly.

“It is therefore our hope that the international community together with the relevant UN agencies will also give this issue of foreign workers the serious attention it deserves.

“While we are rightly concerned about the plight of the Libyan people and their courageous struggle we should not ignore and forget others who are equally at need of our attention and assistance.”

The Philippine government has organized bus convoys for hundreds of workers from Libya into neighboring Tunisia and a chartered Greek ferry arrived in the eastern port of Benghazi on Tuesday to take Filipinos to Malta, diplomats said.

Philippine UN Ambassador Libran Cabactulan appealed for all countries “to allow access and provide safe passage to citizens of third states who are fleeing” the Libyan fighting.

“For the Philippines, at stake is the security and well-being of around 26,000 Filipino nationals,” he said. Filipino immigrant groups have said there are about 30,000 from the country in Libya, many of them laborers at remote oil and gas fields.

9,231 OFWs out of harm’s way
As of Wednesday, the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said a total of 933 Filipinos have been repatriated, the latest of which were 327 workers who arrived at the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 9 a.m. They are among the 9,231 Filipinos who have exited Libya.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement that 158 of the 327 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived at NAIA aboard nine commercial flights, together with the 180 OFWs from the delayed chartered MidEastern Airlines flight from Dubai.

She said another 15 OFWs are set to arrive Thursday via flight CA 179 at NAIA.

Fameronag said another 1,241 OFWs at the Philippine embassy in Tripoli crossed to Djerba, Tunisia, for repatriation, while another 230 Filipinos registered for the government’s repatriation program.

He added that as of 9 a.m. Wednesday about 4,900 OFWs in Egypt, Tunisia, and Malta are waiting for repatriation.

Del Rosario said Teresita Trabolsi, a long time resident and Filipino community leader in Benghazi, reported that some 3,000 Filipinos in and around Benghazi airport left the city for Egypt in five batches through employer-sponsored vehicle convoys.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 100,000 foreign workers have fled Libya over the past week as leader Kadhafi seeks to stifle protests against his rule.

Libya suspended
With the current crisis, the United Nations suspended Libya from its main human rights body over Moamer Khadafy's crackdown on protests amid warnings of new Security Council action against the regime.

With growing Western calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, Britain's UN envoy said the council would take “whatever measures we consider necessary to respond to events on the ground.”

The 192-member assembly passed a suspension resolution by consensus, without a vote, after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the body to “act decisively” against Khadafy.

Roy Mabasa & Samuel Medenilla, Manila Bulletin