OFWs from LIbya. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The government has chartered a third plane to bring home Filipinos from strife-torn Libya and it was expected to arrive home last night, taking home over 400 Filipinos.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday over 400 Filipinos were expected to arrive late Thursday night from Tunis, Tunisia, via Philippine Airlines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2.
The Filipinos were evacuated from Libya by the Philippine Embassy officials and the Rapid Response Team through a land route to Tunisia.
The latest arrivals now bring to 3,300 the number of Filipinos that the government has repatriated since it raised last June the alert for voluntary and later mandatory evacuation from Libya due to the heavy fighting between the Libyan government forces and armed militias.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario praised the latest repatriates for deciding to come home as he cautioned that the “window of opportunity” for the government to bring them home to safety was “closing fast.”