Filipino killed in Libya identified

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday confirmed that one Filipino was killed and three others injured when a rocket hit the western Libyan town of Zawiya on Sunday.

DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said the fatality in the explosion was 31-year-old Jupiter Adrias from Roxas City, Capiz.

In a television interview, Adrias’ family said he had been working in Libya for the past two years, initially as a salesman and then as a pastry chef.

Jose said the Philippine embassy in Tripoli initially reported that four Filipinos were “seriously injured.”

“The four were rushed to the local hospital. However, one of them eventually succumbed to his injuries and died,” he said.

He said the embassy was trying to obtain more information on the incident and to determine the condition of the three injured Filipinos and “render all necessary assistance.”

The DFA earlier reported that there were still more than 4,000 migrant Filipino workers remaining in Libya and that the government had been urging them to avail of the mandatory repatriation program and come home. Relatives of the migrant workers are also covered by the program.

Jose pointed out that security in Libya continued to deteriorate and could endanger the lives of Filipino workers.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario visited Tunisia on March 13-14 to encourage more Filipinos in Libya to sign up for repatriation.

Libya is mired in a conflict between two governments allied with rival factions fighting for control of the oil-producing country four years after Moammar Gadhafi was ousted. With Jeannette I. Andrade

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