DFA chief ‘begs’ Filipinos in Tripoli to evacuate amidst violence

A Filipino working for an oil and gas services provider becomes our second casualty in Libya after he was wounded while his Sudanese coworker was killed when a mortar round fell on their compound in the outskirts of #Tripoli on Tuesday morning. @PhinLibya @teddyboylocsin @DFAPHL pic.twitter.com/mq6CmjDtOA

— Elmer G Cato (@elmer_cato) April 24, 2019

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin, Jr. ‘begged’ overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya for evacuation in the midst of the escalating violence in the country.

Please go to the embassy, I beg you. https://t.co/LDQJTi2m2Q

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 28, 2019

“Please go to the Embassy. I beg you,” these were Locsin’s words in a tweet on late Sunday, April 28, following the tweet of Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato.

Cato, who regularly tweets the repatriation of Filipinos in the area, appealed to the 60 more who are working at the Ali Omar Ashkr Hospital in Esbea. He also called on their dependents.

“The area is no longer safe. Please don’t want more artillery rounds to fall. Please move to the Embassy now,” he continued.

As per Cato’s latest update, 13 more Filipinos were repatriated by their employer.

“This brings to 32 the number of Filipinos repatriated from Tripoli since fighting began on 4 April,” he wrote.

The Philippine Embassy in Libya earlier stated that the Filipino population in the north African country is more than 1000, and it is “doubling its efforts to convince” these kababayans who are still in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

In a separate tweet, Locsin responded to a netizen who said that some Filipinos refuse the government’s offer because “their job is at stake. At least that’s what they always claim.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) chief wrote back, “It’s their choice and government’s duty to come in when they want it to come in even at the last minute with bullets flying. It’s a job not a mission. Or else don’t pay taxes.”

Aside from DFA’s efforts to aid Filipinos, Cato also said that the Philippines is extending help to Thailand.

“We briefed our ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) brothers on the situation in Tripoli and discussed how the Philippines can assist Thai nationals who may want to leave Libya,” he tweeted.

Cato said that the Philippine Embassy in Libya is the only Southeast Asian mission with diplomats on the ground in Tripoli.