Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valley on September 23, 2024. Israeli air strikes killed 274 people, including 21 children, in south Lebanon on September 23, the Lebanese health minister said, in by far the deadliest cross-border escalation since war erupted in Gaza on October 7. (AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Majority of Filipinos in Lebanon cited “loyalty” and “taking chances” for refusing to be repatriated despite the ongoing tension in the Middle Eastern country, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond Balatbat said on Friday.
Nearly 700 people been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, as Israel dramatically escalated strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities.
Over the past week, Israel has carried out several strikes in Beirut targeting senior Hezbollah commanders
In a press conference, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega also said that less than 1,000 out of 11,000 Filipinos have expressed interest in returning home.
Balatbat, who joined the press conference via video conferencing, cited some Filipinos’ willingness to take risks as reason why they do not want to be repatriated.
“The mentality is they’d rather take their chances here than go home,” said Balatbat.
“The old timers, especially the ones who’ve been to most of the wars here, say that they have seen it all, that they will survive,” he added.
For others, their loyalty to their employers holds them back from returning home.
“Marami sa kanila sila ‘yung nagpalaki ng anak ng employer nila, so there’s the sense of loyalty that they’re also part of family. They’ve been guaranteed naman na kung may mangyari, isasama naman sila,” he said.
(Many of them were the ones who raised their employer’s children, so there’s a sense of loyalty that they’re also part of the family. They’ve been assured that if anything happens, they will be taken along.)
Despite this, the two officials still reiterated their call to Filipinos in Lebanon to go home, especially since flights out of Beirut are expected to resume in the first week of October.
Last Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said preparations are being made for the possible mass repatriation of Filipinos in Lebanon.
De Vega already clarified that a mass repatriation might not be necessary, but they are still preparing for any eventuality.