40 Pinoys in Libya seek help to return to PHL —official


At least 40 Filipinos in Libya have asked assistance to return to the Philippines following the continuous clashes in the capital Tripoli, according to Philippine Embassy Charge d'Affaires Elmer Cato on Monday.
"We have 40 so far who have asked us to help them to return to the Philippines," Cato said in a phone interview on ANC.
Cato, however, said there are still Filipinos who refuse to leave the troubled country,  noting that they had survived previous political turmoils in Tripoli.
"The problem we're encountering right now is that most of our kababayans here, about 1,000 of them, are still maintaining this wait and see attitude because most of them are veterans of the previous fighting in Tripoli in 2011 and 2014," Cato said.
"They think it's still gonna be the same. Despite all our efforts to convince them, many of them still refuse to avail the repatriation offers of the government."
Explosions shook Tripoli on Saturday after an air strike was launched in the area. A Reuters report stated that an aircraft was circling for more than 10 minutes over the capital with a humming sound before opening fire on a southern suburb.
Residents had also reported drone strikes in the previous days.
Cato, meanwhile, once again appealed to Filipinos in Libya to avail the government's repatriation program.
"We are appealing to our kababayans here in Libya, particularly in Tripoli, and other areas to please seriously consider our offer to bring them home while we still can," Cato said.
"We assure them that we will try to bring them out of the danger zone as quick as possible. The embassy will still be here," he added. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News

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