Philippine Passport. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) dispelled rumors that Philippine passports are being stamped as “not valid for travel to Libya” because of the ongoing violence in the African nation.
“The DFA clarifies that there is no truth to the rumor that the words “Not Valid for Travel to Libya” are being stamped on Philippine passports,” DFA said in a statement Tuesday.
“The DFA has not announced any plans to stamp that annotation as a restriction on passports being currently issued,” it said.
Crisis Alert Level 4 (mandatory repatriation) is currently raised in Libya because of the fighting between rival militias who are battling for control of territory.
More than 3,000 of the 13,000 Filipinos in Libya have already been repatriated either through land borders with Egypt and Tunisia or by ship to Malta.
“The DFA once more appeals to all Filipinos in Libya to immediately contact the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli through telephone numbers (00218) 918-244-208 / 914-370-399 / 945-348-481 and e-mail addresses tripoli.pe@gmail.com and tripoli.pe@dfa.gov.ph in order to register for repatriation,” DFA said.
“The Embassy’s address is KM 7 Gargaresh Road, Abu Nawas, P.O. Box 12508, Tripoli. Families can also call DFA’s 24-hour hotlines (02) 552-7105 / (02) 834-4685 to register their relatives in Libya for repatriation. They may also call these numbers for any questions and concerns, or send their queries by e-mail to oumwa@dfa.gov.ph,” it said.
RELATED STORIES
PH gov’t: Evacuation of Filipinos from Libya continues
Filipino beheaded by Libyan militias