Filipinos safe in Libya, says DFA

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos are safe in Libya, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said over 990AM Tuesday.

“So far, they are safe; they are not going in the streets, they are staying in their homes and workplaces. They are just waiting for the embassy’s advice for eventual repatriation,” Raul Hernandez said.

Hernandez issued the statement amid reports that a Filipino engineer has been kidnapped in the war-torn country.

Hernandez said that there was an allotted budget in case the estimated 1,600 Filipinos in Tripoli, mostly medical workers, would be repatriated.

Meanwhile, there are 257 Filipinos in Syria seeking repatriation, said Hernandez. He said there were three task groups helping OFWs who want to go back home. “The first group is to call people to repatriate, the second group is to receive calls for those inquiring about voluntary repatriation and the third group are those negotiating with the employers to release the OFWs.”

There are around 17,000 Filipinos in Syria, he said. Danica Hermogenes, INQUIRER.net

For the full interview, listen to 990AM.