MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will arrive in the Philippines from Lebanon on October 3, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Fely Bay said on Saturday.
“Dapat po ay may dumating tayong kababayan noong September 26, subalit nagkaroon po ng suspension of flights from Lebanon so ‘yong darating po nating kababayan na 15 OFWs ay nasuspend na muna po ‘yong kanilang byahe,” Bay said in Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
(Some OFWs were supposed to arrive on September 26 but there was a suspension of flights from Lebanon so the arrival of the 15 OFWs had been suspended.)
“Subalit mayroon po kaming huling kaganapan na nareceive from our migrant workers office that the repatriation will be rescheduled or has been reset for October 2. So darating po ‘yong mga kababayan natin barring unfortunate circumstances, October 3. ‘Yong mga ‘di po nakaalis no’ng September 26, makakarating po sila ngayon sa atin ng October 3,” Bay added.
(But we heard from the migrant workers office that the repatriation will be rescheduled or has been reset for October 2. So they will arrive, barring unfortunate circumstances, October 3. Those who did not get to leave on September 26 will arrive on October 3.)
The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon said in an advisory on Friday that “multiple explosions were reported in the southern suburbs of Beirut due to a targeted Israeli military strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters on the evening of 27 September 2024.”
The embassy then urged the Filipinos in the area to remain vigilant and avoid the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas that have been the targets of conflicts.
Meanwhile, DMW said on Thursday that there are no reported Filipino casualties in Lebanon despite the escalating war between the Israeli forces and the Islamic group Hezbollah.
Voluntary repatriation
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised Alert Level 3 in Lebanon in October 2023. This means that voluntary repatriation is open.
Bay said that the voluntary repatriation for the Filipinos based in Lebanon is ongoing. The undersecretary also urged Filipinos to leave before the situation worsens.
“This is a call for all Filipinos, not only OFWs, but for all Filipinos to heed the call of the government for voluntary repatriation,” Bay stressed.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega confirmed to INQUIRER.net on Wednesday that they are preparing for a possible “mass” repatriation of Filipinos in Lebanon.
De Vega also said that there are approximately 11,000 Filipinos that are still in Lebanon, and that 1,247 have shown interest in being repatriated.