134 Pinoys evacuated from Libya

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Some 134 Filipinos are now out of Libya and on their way home while 13,000 more will be repatriated in light of escalating tensions in the North African state, the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.

Around 300 Filipino workers were also evacuated to a safe area in Tripoli from Brega, Jalo and the Zahara Desert, but three Filipinos decided to stay on in Benghazi for personal reasons. Their company has a plane that can carry 100 passengers, the DFA said.

Ninety-seven Filipinos from the OEA Grands Project already took a plane bound to Paris, en route to Manila while 11 from the Benghazi-based Al Nahr Engineering Limited are being evacuated by their employer, the DFA said. A number of them are due for evacuation anytime via the British Naval Fleet to Malta.

The DFA has also made arrangements for ferry ships to take Filipinos from Tripoli to Malta and those from Benghazi to Crete. The Philippine Honorary Consul in Malta is also making arrangements for them to enter the country.

On Wednesday, the first batch of 13 Filipinos were moved safely out of Libya. Twelve Filipinos from Korean Construction firm Won Company arrived in Egypt, while another joined her employer via land from Tobruk in Libya to Asalum in Egypt.

Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the DFA is on a full relocation and repatriation mode for 30,000 Filipinos in Libya.

“Our objective is to do this as quickly as possible,” Del Rosario said.

The newly-appointed DFA Chief said the Philippine embassy in Libya has set up relocation centers in capital Tripoli and Benghazi for Filipino evacuees.

The DFA said Filipinos are being repatriated by their employers out of Libya, in tandem with the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has also extended assistance to the Philippines in arranging commercial flights. IOM assured Manila that Filipinos will be included in any IOM-sponsored evacuation of migrant workers out of Libya.

Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines said it is prepared to operate emergency flights to evacuate Filipinos fleeing the civil unrest in Libya.  –(philstar.com)