DFA, DOLE conduct 'mop-up' operations to locate OFWs in Libya

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said they were conducting “mop-up” operations to locate and possibly send home more than 13,000 to 15,000 Filipinos still in Libya, in the face of escalating violence in the North African nation.

“This week and up to Saturday, we will be on mop-up operations. We will get Filipinos in other areas aside from Tripoli and Benghazi who wish to be repatriated home to the Philippines,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said.

“The areas outside Tripoli are very dangerous. Because of the current situation, there’s a need for them to leave,” he said.

“We can’t force people to get out but we’re trying our best to convince them to leave,” Seguis said.

“For the past two weeks, we have accomplished much, but there remains much to be done. We have had very close coordination and partnership with Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and her team, and will continue to do so,” he said in a press conference held jointly with Labor officials.

He said they have achieved their “Internal target” of extricating Filipinos from Tripoli, Benghazi and other areas.

“We have accomplished this, with the pick-up of our Filipino nationals from Misurata and Brega, as well as the voyage of the M/V Ionian Queen from Tripoli,” Seguis said.

“With the tremendous effort of our personnel from the Philippine embassy in Tripoli, and with the support of people from the respective home offices of DFA and DOLE, we were able to get around 12,000 Filipinos in Libya out of harm’s way, with about a third of them already back in Manila,” he said.

“The Philippine government allocated P525 million for the repatriation effort, and more funding will be made available for these Filipinos,” he pointed out.

“We have chartered planes, ships and other modes of transport to ensure that we have an effective and efficient repatriation. Teams from the DFA and the DOLE are in the border crossings in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as in receiving areas in Djerba, Crete and Malta to receive our nationals, provide them assistance and arrange for their onward transportation to Manila,” Seguis added.

DFA-DOLE personnel led by DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Executive Director Ricardo Endaya and principal assistant Maynard Maleon picked up more than 200 Filipinos from Brega and nearby areas last Sunday. The Filipinos were set to travel by land yesterday from Benghazi to Al Sallum, a border town in Egypt.

The Philippine government-chartered vessel Ionian Queen arrived Sunday midnight in the port city of Crete with 1,038 passengers, including an Algerian family of five and a Myanmar national. In Malta, there are 22 Filipinos who arrived from Misurata.

In Manila, a total of 1,291 Filipinos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Sunday in three chartered flights and 12 commercial flights.

There are now 11,867 Filipinos who have exited Libya.

Coordination

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said coordinating with countries with nationals still trapped in Libya would help in locating and evacuating Filipinos in the embattled North African state.

“Find some kind of partnerships with other countries who have also nationals working in Libya, that is one suggestion that the DFA can take on board,” Marcos said at the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel media forum.

“Because we have limited resources and these countries have much larger global reach, they have ships… let us stop trying to do it on our own,” Marcos added.

He said a Chinese company has already evacuated its 30,000 workers from Libya. The Philippines, on other hand, has evacuated roughly half of its more than 26,000 Filipino workers in Libya.

“Considering the number of workers that we have (in Libya), the DFA could have done a better job,” he said.

Sen. Francis Escudero, who was also a guest at the breakfast forum, said there is a pending bill in the Senate that seeks to expand the powers of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Based on the proposed measure, the NDRRMC may come up and carry out contingency plans for Filipinos in countries experiencing civil unrest.

Evacuation progress hit

Militant groups and a congressman son of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, meanwhile, criticized the administration for what it considered the slow evacuation process.

“It seems the DFA is not prepared or has adopted a wait-and-see attitude on the crisis,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said.

Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Macapagal-Arroyo said delays in the evacuation showed the Aquino administration’s “indecisiveness and lack of focus in running state affairs.” Mrs. Arroyo herself is now a member of the House of Representatives.

“It is now very obvious that Mr. Aquino is incapable of handling a crisis. The fact that there are still stranded OFWs in Libya because of the absence of a systematic and quick evacuation system shows that Mr. Aquino’s administration has very little competence in crisis management,” he said.

“This early, his actions are the exact opposite of his campaign rhetoric. It is clear that he is not really capable of putting words into action,” Arroyo said in a statement. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos, Paolo Romero, and Helen Flores