53 Filipino workers arrive from Lebanon

MANILA, Philippines—Fifty-three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) recruited from 2009 to 2011 despite a total deployment ban to Lebanon have returned home after being repatriated by the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The Filipino workers arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)  from the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, the DFA said in a statement.

The Philippine Embassy negotiated with the employers of the Filipinos and the Lebanese immigration office to get their exit visas. The OFWs arrived in Beirut between 2009 and 2011

Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Welfare Officer Aquilina Tarrobago sent off the OFWs from Beirut.

“Representatives from the DFA, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and OWWA welcomed the Filipino repatriates at the airport and facilitated their immigration and customs clearances,” said the DFA.

“The DFA wishes to remind Filipinos who are seeking employment overseas to observe the deployment ban that has been put in place in Lebanon,” it said.