DFA: 400 more OFWs from Libya due Thursday night

About 400 Filipinos who were evacuated from the war-torn Libya to Tunisia are expected to arrive in the country Thursday night, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
 
In a press statement, the DFA said Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight PR 8009 left Manila for Tunis, Tunisia on Wednesday and is expected to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino Terminal 2 at 10:50 p.m. Thursday.
 
The PAL flight is the third plane chartered by the government to ferry the Filipinos caught in the middle of the rising tension in Libya.
 
The new batch of OFWs were brought out of Libya via land route to Tunisia by the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) composed of personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Philippine National Police (PNP).
 
“We laud these Filipinos for their timely decision to come home,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.
 
The DFA said the arrival of this batch will bring the total number of Filipinos repatriated from Libya to more than 3,300.
 
More than 700 OFWs also arrived in the country from Libya over the weekend. The DFA, however, said that there are still around 10,000 OFWs who decided to stay and continue working in Libya.
 
“We appeal to our nationals who are still in Libya to get in touch with our Embassy and the RRT in order to begin the process of their repatriation,” Del Rosario said.
 
The DFA raised alert level 4 or mandatory evacuation warning over Libya because of the unstable political and security situation there.
 
Last month, a Filipino construction worker was beheaded in Benghazi City, while a Filipina nurse was gang-raped in Tripoli.
 
Armed factions in Libya have been fighting for over a month to take control of the country's capital, Tripoli.
 
To register for repatriation, Filipinos can reach the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli through telephone numbers (00218) 918-244-208 / 914-370-399 / 945-348-481 and e-mail addresses tripoli.pe@gmail.com and tripoli.pe@dfa.gov.ph. The Embassy's address in Libya is KM 7 Gargaresh Road, Abu Nawas, P.O. Box 12508, Tripoli.
 
Families can also call DFA’s 24-hour hotlines (02) 552-7105 / (02) 834-4685 to register their relatives in Libya for repatriation. — Elizabeth Marcelo/RSJ, GMA News

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