The warfare between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah militants endangers the well-being of the estimated 34,000 documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon. At least 99% of them are in the households of Maronite Christians in Northern Beirut, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
To protect their welfare and save them from danger, Speaker Jose de Venecia suggested a “practical evacuation plan” to move thousands of Filipinos to the mountains in Nothern Beirut.
The evacuation site is 15 miles south of Beirut. It is at the seat of the Maronite Catholic Church, which is an old Christian fortress in Beirut’s northern mountains. Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Butros Sfei, a member of the College of the Cardinals and head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church, is administering it.
This seems to be the best option to be able to send OFWs home because the Beirut’s airports are closed and traveling by sea will be too risky. The evacuation site is 15 miles south of Beirut.
“This contingency plan is to evacuate our OFWs and their families to the high mountains in northern Beirut, instead of evacuation under the most dangerous condition by air, which is impossible, or by sea to Cyprus,” de Venecia said. “This in-country relocation plan is the safest and will not entail large-scale expenditures by sea and by air,” he added.
If the situation becomes extremely dangerous, a major airlift of Filipino evacuees, from Syria to Jordan or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Dubai might be necessary.
The speaker also said that the fighting in Lebanon had already claimed more than 200 lives and as western powers and international agencies like the Red Cross and Red Crescent rescue their nationals, they will continue the evacuation of Filipinos.
In line with this, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) ordered the suspension on the deployment of all OFWs bound to Lebanon. The suspension took effect on June 13, 2006. This means that all documented workers that are about to go to Lebanon will not be granted clearance at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other exit points. Long before the dispute in Lebanon, the DFA had already issued a travel ban to Lebanon.
