DFA: 11,045 Filipinos have left Libya

MANILA, Philippines—Brace for the end game.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Thursday said that 11,045 Filipinos had left Libya and that 1,625 of them had arrived in Manila. Most of these evacuees were brought out by their employers.

Acting Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario on Wednesday said that he expected to wind up the evacuation in the violence-torn eastern Libyan coast by Saturday.

Filipinos who have opted to remain in Libya or those who are far from evacuation centers should stay where they are and hunker down as Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi prepares to make his “last stand,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Baldoz said Del Rosario told a meeting in Malacañang Thursday that traveling by land “in the whole of Libya” was no longer safe as pro-Gadhafi and rebel forces fought pitched battles.

She said the chartered ferry Ionian Queen was to make a last trip to Tripoli on Friday to pick up at least 700 Filipinos but this might even be delayed as pro-Gadhafi forces were expected to hold a huge rally at the port.

“The problem now is that it is very hard to travel in the whole of Libya. By land, it’s no longer safe. So, we are telling those who are still in their places to stay where you are. Don’t move. Let the troubles subside first,” Baldoz said.

“The Filipinos will have to wait … because there is going to be a last stand (by Gadhafi). Even in those (areas) that have fallen to protesters, there is an attempt to take them back,” she said.

Some 26,000 to 30,000 Filipinos were in Libya before the uprising broke out in mid-February.

“What we are saying is that we have accumulated big numbers of workers who are already out of Libya and they are in various stages of repatriation,” Baldoz said, adding that 3,000 were expected to arrive by the weekend.

Ferry diverted

The Ionian Queen had earlier ferried to the Greek island of Crete 1,200 Filipinos from Benghazi. Instead of going back to Benghazi, the ferry was diverted to Tripoli to pick up 700 Filipinos in a relocation center and two school buildings.

“(But) there might be a delay when it docks on Friday to load passengers because it seems there is going to be a huge demonstration by pro-Gadhafi forces at the port area,” she added.

Baldoz said the government was making available to the arrivals the P1-billion reintegration fund for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has set aside P100 million.

She said the P100 million would be used for the P10,000 “one-time cash grant” that would be given to each returning OFW from Libya “whether they’re documented or not.”

“There is also a P10,000 ‘work starter kit’ that the children of OFWs could use to buy tools if they want to be electricians, hair stylists, or go into meat processing. In effect, they could have a total of P20,000 in immediate capital,” Baldoz said.

Loans

The labor secretary also said the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines were also prepared to loan the returnees at least P50,000 if they want to start a new business.

For those who want to go abroad, recruitment agencies reported that there were many jobs available in other Middle Eastern countries if the situation in Libya did not normalize, Baldoz said.

However, the Bureau of Immigration Thursday ordered all its personnel to “strictly enforce” a ban on the departure of Filipino workers to Libya, Yemen and Bahrain due to ongoing anti-government protests in those countries.

The DFA earlier issued a travel advisory urging Filipinos to defer nonessential travel to these countries.

Heads should roll

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares and Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan called for an investigation of officials for their failure to respond immediately to the Libya crisis.

“Heads should roll. The OFWs and their families will not accept any inefficiency and the government doing nothing about it,” Colmenares said.

“A serious investigation is needed now. These officials should not resign. The President should fire these nonperforming and inefficient officials,” he stressed.

Colmenares said that officials of the DFA, the labor department and the OWWA should not celebrate for having evacuated 9,000 Filipinos from Libya because 15,000 remained to be rescued.

“How come other countries that do not have OWWA funds to speak of are able to repatriate their countrymen?” Colmenares asked.

Ilagan said the government had no clear “blueprint” on how to handle the repatriation of OFWs in Libya and other Middle East countries. With reports from Jerome Aning, Jerry E. Esplanada and Cynthia D. Balana