182 Filipinos in Lebanon expected home soon

FILE: The Department of Foreign Affairs Building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, which used to be the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank. (Photo By Lawrence Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday at least 182 Filipinos in Lebanon are confirmed to be returning to the Philippines soon.

DFA Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose De Vega said the Filipinos have their flights out of Beirut reserved, with the latest batch of repatriates scheduled to depart soon.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Beirut is processing the exit of 400 more who have expressed their interest in returning to the Philippines.

The repatriation comes as Israel continues to pummel Hezbollah targets in parts of Lebanon, especially in the south.

De Vega said majority of the estimated 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon have chosen to remain there.

“In fact, sa 11,000 na Filipinos, siguro 500 to 600 lang ang gustong umuwi. Ayaw nilang bumalik kasi kapag bumalik baka hindi na sila makabalik at nandoon ang trabaho nila(In fact, out of the 11,000 Filipinos, only 500 to 600 want to go home. They don’t want to return home because they think they might not be able to come back),” he said.

“Mahirap (mag-raise) ng Alert Level 4 kung ayaw nilang bumalik (It’s difficult to raise Alert Level 4 if they do not want to return),” he added.

De Vega said the Philippine Embassy in Beirut continues to act as if they are under Alert Level 4 and has been following up the exit clearance of Filipinos who want to leave Lebanon.