DFA augmentation teams sent to Libya


The Department of Foreign  Affairs (DFA) has sent two augmentation teams to extend support for the Philippine Embassy in Libya.
Elmer B. Cato, Charge d'affaires in Libya, added that the teams are led by Executive Director Enrico Fos and Director Iric Arribas of the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs (OMWA).
"In challenging times like this, our people can always look forward to an effective response from the DFA and other agencies of government," Cato said in a post on social media.
There are about 1,000 Filipinos affected by the Alert Level 3 raised in Libya.
The augmentation teams are needed to extract all of the Filipinos in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, and those within the 100-kilometer radius and kept from harm's way should the situation in the deteriorate further.
Cato related that there are 100 nurses at the University of Tripoli Medical Center who opted to stay in Libya.
"They told us they would rather stay than face an uncertain future in the Philippines," Cato said.
"We respect their decision but as long as we are here, we will keep on trying to convince them and the rest of our people here in Tripoli that with the looming danger, it may be time for them to go home," he added.
At the Oil Clinic managed by the National Oil Company, Cato said there are more than 150 Filipinos nurses and other hospital staff.
"Most of them are also veterans of the fierce fighting that took place in the capital in 2014. And just like the rest of our kababayan who are still in Tripoli, Filipinos at the Oil Clinic are convinced the situation will improve and that there is no need for them to go home," he said.
Earlier, Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that a total deployment ban has been imposed on Filipinos who want to work in Libya.
The order was issued as firefighting among warring factions continue in Libya.
Based on data from DOLE, there are 2,600 documented OFWs in Libya who are mostly medical and skilled workers while a thousand of them are in the affected areas. — BAP, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more