DFA adopts ‘wait and see’ stance on evacuation of OFWs in Libya

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs has adopted a “wait and see” attitude in dealing with the situation in Libya, where at least 91 overseas Filipino workers have expressed interest in leaving the troubled north African country.

Top DFA officials on Monday told a news conference that “if the situation in Libya stabilizes, there will be no need to repatriate our OFWs,” who are mostly nurses and other medical workers.

Acting Foreign Secretary Antonio Rodriguez said, “If the rebel forces succeed in taking over Tripoli within 24 hours, then tapos na ang boxing, tapos na ang story.”

But “nobody knows what’s on (Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s) mind, what he’s going to do. Whether he would stay or go elsewhere,” said Rodriguez.

That is why, “it is wait and see (for the DFA team in Libya) before making a decision” on the planned evacuation of the remaining 1,700-plus Filipinos in Tripoli and Benghazi, he explained.

For his part, Undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. disclosed that the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration had reserved at least 400 seats for OFWs in an IOM-chartered ship that plans to bring fleeing migrant workers from Tripoli to Alexandria in Egypt.

From Alexandria, Filipino repatriates would take commercial flights to Cairo and then Manila, said Conejos.

In a statement, the DFA said Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Philippine Ambassador to Libya were “coordinating with the IOM for the repatriation by sea of Filipinos who are still there.”

“As a result of the said coordination, IOM has entrusted the embassy 400 passenger seats on a chartered ship for Filipnos,” the statement said.

In a report to the home office, the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli said it was “continuously assessing the security situation whether it would be safe for Filipinos to proceed to agreed meeting points for repatriation.”

The same report also said “there are some clashes happening on the streets of Tripoli and its neighboring suburbs, as well as celebratory activities of people there.”

According to the embassy, “parts of the capital have already been occupied by advancing rebel forces, including the Green Central Square.”

“The 24/7 monitoring center of the embassy continues to operate. The embassy also continues to enjoin Filipinos in Libya not to go out into the streets but to stay in their homes and workplaces and wait for the advice from the embassy in preparation for eventual repatriation,” the mission added.

The DFA’s Rapid Response Team, which is currently based in Djerba, Tunisia, is “ready to assist the embassy in the repatriation of the remaining Filipinos in Libya,” said DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez.

The foreign office continues to maintain the following hotlines for families of Filipinos who are still in Libya – 834-3240, 834-3245 and 834-3333.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Embassy in Makati City declined comment on the developments in Tripoli. Embassy staff, including the mission’s acting Charge d’Affaires Mohamed I.K. Hander, on Monday monitored the goings-on in Libya on Al Jazeera cable TV.