MANILA, October 17 ------ Around 514 Filipinos from Lebanon will be flying back the Philippines in the coming days, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said, about a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to utilize all assets to repatriate Filipinos stuck in the country that has been devastated by Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah militants. Of the 514 Filipinos who have volunteered to join the repatriation program, 264 already have plane tickets, while another 250 are waiting for the release of their exit clearances from the Lebanese government, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said. "We will keep on coordinating, operating through our Embassy on the ground and we will prepare them for flights," he said.
At least 192 Filipinos in Lebanon are staying in the shelters while awaiting repatriation, Cacdac said, adding the government has a social worker and medical professionals to assist the stranded workers. "Kung may pangangailangan, puwedeng sunduin yung kababayan natin… at dadalhin natin kaagad sila sa ating mga shelters. Doon sila puwede mag-antabay habang prinoproseso yung plane ticket at flight home nila," he said.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted in October 2023, the Philippine government has repatriated 488 Filipinos and their dependents from Lebanon, the DMW chief said. There are some 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, according to DMW data. He told state television PTV that 100 clearances were already pending release as of Tuesday.
Cacdac said some Filipinos working in Beirut are refusing to leave the country despite the conflict in the region. "They live or stay with their employers’ households so they have a sense of personal commitment to their work, loyalty to their employers… Therefore they would have their own emotional reason kung bakit ayaw pa nilang umuwi," Cacdac said. "Of course, there is the income na kinikita nila sa ngayon," he said, stressing that the government is ready to bring them home when they decide to apply for repatriation. He added labor attaches can help talk to employers who don't want to allow their Filipino workers to go home. "Mayroon tayong mga persuasive strategies or systems na sinasagawa to convince the employers to send our OFWs home," he added.
OFWs from Lebanon who would avail of the repatriation program will receive P150,000 from the government upon their return, Cacdac said, noting that there would also be additional aid packages from other government agencies. Marcos Jr. earlier said that the Philippines has yet to place Lebanon under Alert Level 4, which would volunteer a mandatory repatriation.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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