Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday said he wants to prioritize the concerns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya who might not be able to go home to the Philippines this Christmas because of the escalation of violence there.
In several twitter posts, Locsin said he has been receiving complaints from an OFW about not being able to go home for Chrismas and ordered Foreign Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato to bring the concern on his desk as soon as possible.
“Elmer, I want that issue raised by our workers in Libya brought to my desk ASAP,” Locsin said in a tweet to Cato.
“I don’t want smart talk that we here can possibly know better than OFWs abroad. That’s a laughable proposition,” he added.
https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1064297694578073606
Last September, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised an Alert Level III in Libya due to rising violence in that country.
Locsin said OFWs in Libya were worried they won’t be able to go home for Christmas because of Level 3 alert.
“That he tweeted me, sent docs & ff up w explanations means he is desperate. He has to book flights, file leaves & if he doesn’t get any clarity Xmas is gone & he has to wait another yr. He can go home another time but when else are u and ur kids off at the same time?” the DFA chief noted.
https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1064305978252787713
“Since WE raised the alert level in Libya now workers worry they cannot go home for Christmas. We better not f**k them,” Locsin said.
https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1064298579102072833
Under an Alert Level III, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) imposes an automatic deployment ban.
It also calls on all Filipinos in Libya to start preparations for evacuation and all those with valid employment contracts, who are on vacation in the Philippines, will not be allowed to return. /kga