Almost 12k Pinoys refuse to leave Libya; only 1,000 heed call for repatriation
Tags: Department of Foreign Affairs , Libya
(Updated 11:13 a.m.) Most Filipino workers in Libya prefer to
stay in the area and keep their jobs despite the dangers there, Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Charles Jose said Monday.
Out of some 13,000 Filipinos in the strife-torn country, only around "800 plus" have been sent back to the Philippines, while another 200 are at the embassy in Tripoli awaiting repatriation, Jose disclosed in a phone interview with GMA News TV's News To Go.
Out of some 13,000 Filipinos in the strife-torn country, only around "800 plus" have been sent back to the Philippines, while another 200 are at the embassy in Tripoli awaiting repatriation, Jose disclosed in a phone interview with GMA News TV's News To Go.
Libya's government and
weak military have been unable to control two armed factions who have been fighting for
nearly three weeks. Most Western governments have evacuated their
embassies after clashes erupted in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi,
fearing Libya is sliding back into civil war three years after the uprising
that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.
The DFA raised the alert level in Libya to 4 last
July 20, after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker in Benghazi.
This means mandatory repatriation, which Jose said has been met with low
turnout.
A Filipina nurse was likewise confirmed to have been abducted and raped in Libya.
Last Friday, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Libyan Ministry of Labor has allowed Filipino workers there to leave even without exit visas from their employers. But this seemed to be unnecessary as the Filipino workers there have refused to leave the troubled African state.
A Filipina nurse was likewise confirmed to have been abducted and raped in Libya.
Last Friday, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Libyan Ministry of Labor has allowed Filipino workers there to leave even without exit visas from their employers. But this seemed to be unnecessary as the Filipino workers there have refused to leave the troubled African state.
Most Filipinos who work
in the area "are professionals ... in big companies in the oil industry,
construction, and medical services, so most of them opted to stay kaugnay ng
trabaho nila," Jose said, adding that even the total deployment ban that
they imposed two months ago was met with criticisms.
"Nu'ng una po
naming ini-raise 'yung Alert Level 3, voluntary repatriation, pero may total
deployment ban, so maraming OFWs ang nagrereklamo," he said. "Tahimik
naman daw, safe sila doon, bakit daw kailangang may total deployment ban. And
many of them were caught here in Manila when they were having their vacation,
and because of the deployment ban, they weren't able to go back."
Because of this, the DFA
provided exceptions to the ban, allowing those "with valid contracts to
return," Jose said.
"Karamihan [sa
kanila], ang reasoning po, they think they will survive 'yung conflict doon,
but they are less sure they will survive 'yung certainty ng wala pong trabaho
dito," he added.
'Still their
decision'
But Jose said that while
there the highest alert level and mandatory repatriation are in place, the DFA
does not have the power to force the Filipinos out of Libya if they do not wish
to leave.
"Kahit tinawag po
naming mandatory, wala naman kaming kapangyarihan na sapilitan po – to
bodily force the OFWs to leave," he said. "At the end of the day,
desisyon pa rin po nila if they'd like to stay or leave the country. Despite
nu'ng matagal na naming advisory, ganu'n ang response."
He added that it may be
especially difficult for Filipino medical health workers to leave.
"May pressure din
[sa] medical health workers kasi 'yung mga pinagtatrabahuhan nila, most of
them, 60 percent po ng kanilang medical health workers ay mga Filipino, so kung
lahat po ay aalis, mapa-paralyze din 'yung kanilang medical services," he
said.
Meanwhile, Jose said
that they have moved "non-essential" and female staff at the
Philippine Embassy in Tripoli to Tunisia, keeping only the male staff and their
response team.
They are planning to
take in personnel from other nearby embassies "to augment" the team
in Tripoli, he added.
Exit by sea
In a statement issued
over the weekend, the DFA once again appealed "with urgency" to
Filipinos there "to please consider" repatriation "as the
avenues ... are quickly diminishing."
Foreign Secretary Albert
del Rosario – who just got back from Tunisia, where he oversaw operations
and issued further instructions for evacuation – fears the route to sea
"may be the only means of repatriation."
A ship from Malta will
be picking up Filipinos from the ports of Benghazi, Misrata, and
"possibly" Tripoli, the DFA said in a statement.
According to Jose,
"traveling throughout Libya could prove dangerous dahil maraming
checkpoints diyan manned by different armed groups."
"Most of the
[conflict ay] nangyayari sa Tripoli at Benghazi dahil ito po 'yung mga major
cities, so dito nag-aaway 'yung mga different armed groups for control and
power," he said.
While they met the OFWs
halfway by allowing exceptions in the deployment ban, Jose said they hope the
Filipinos there "would realize the seriousness of the situation and heed
our call for repatriation," citing incidents such as the beheading of an
OFW and the abduction and rape of a Filipina nurse in Tripoli. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KG/RSJ, GMA News
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