More than 1,000 Filipinos in Lebanon have sought assistance from the Philippine government to be repatriated amid the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.
“So far over 500 have already returned to the Philippines with over 1,000 being processed for return,” said DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer in an interview with Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.
“But we still reiterate the call for all Filipinos in Lebanon to avail themselves of the government’s voluntary repatriation program, habang (while) commercial flights are still available and the situation in Beirut is still stable,” he added.
The DFA said that there are still some overseas Filipinos who do not want to return home yet, but it noted that the Philippine Embassy in Beirut is planning a mass repatriation soon if the situation worsens.
“Now our embassy has been coordinating with the Filipino community and taking the necessary steps to initiate mass repatriation in case the need arises,” said Ferrer.
“Nananawagan kami, itong mga kamag-anak ng mga Pilipinong ito, they should call their own relatives and force them or ask them to go home,” he added.
(We call on the relatives of these Filipinos in Lebanon to call them, and force or ask them to go home.)
The department also assured that the embassy will take care of those with immigration and visa issues.
Lebanon remains under Alert Level 3, which calls for voluntary repatriation.
In an advisory on Monday, the embassy asked Filipinos in the southern part of Lebanon to regularly check the local news and remain indoors until the bombings stop.
Filipinos were also advised to communicate with the Philippine Embassy, at 70 858 086, and the Migrant Workers Office, at 79 110 729, in Lebanon.
