Leave Libya
DOLE ready to enforce deployment ban to troubled African state
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised Alert Level III in Libya as it urged Filipinos in the capital Tripoli and nearby areas to consider getting themselves and their dependents repatriated to avoid getting caught in the middle of ongoing clashes between rival factions.
Only last Monday, a warplane attacked
Tripoli's only functioning airport as eastern forces advancing on the Libyan capital disregarded international appeals for a truce in the latest of a cycle of warfare since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in 2011.
Mitiga airport, in an eastern suburb, was bombed and closed, authorities said. The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, condemned the air strike as “a serious violation of humanitarian law.”
Keep hotlines open
With this development,
re-electionist Sen. Nancy Binay urged the DFA and the DOLE to keep their emergency hotlines open for OFWs in Libya.
She said it was imperative that government agencies, especially the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), are prepared to roll out contingency plans for the Filipino migrant workers now trapped in the Northern African country.
With thousands of migrant workers trapped in buildings, and civilians caught in the fighting between rival military forces, Binay said the government agencies must activate emergency hotlines where families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can call and be updated of the safety status of their relatives in Libya.
Binay added that an inter-agency team composed of the DFA, DOLE, OWWA – including representatives from employment agencies – was necessary so that relatives in the Philippines could be apprised of the situation and the repatriation plans of the government.
“In situations like this, communication is essential for us to be able to contact our citizens in Libya, and also for the peace of mind of their families that do not know their situation is in that country,” she said in Filipino.
With the help of recruitment agencies that have OFWs deployed in Libya, Binay said the government can put up hotlines and social media channels for easier and faster communication.
“DFA can setup an online info-center which will consolidate all Libya-related information and have it regularly updated,” she said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had earlier angrily refused to raise the alert level, saying that OFWs in Libya are opting to stay behind despite the looming danger.
In raising the Alert Level from II (Restriction Phase) to III (Voluntary Repatriation), the DFA cited its obligation to “ensure the safety and security of all Filipino nationals overseas.”
An official of the Philippine embassy in Tripoli, who had earlier claimed that the situation in the capital was still calm, finally gave in and recommended to raise Alert Level III.
The recommendation was made as fighting continues to escalate, including the shelling of residential areas in the outskirts of the capital.
Alert Level III will cover Tripoli and areas within a 100-kilometer radius of the capital as follows:
To the East
1. Tajoura
2. Ghot Romman
3. Qaraboli
4. Qasr Khiyar
To the South
1. Esbea
2. Tarhuna
3. Bani Waled
4. Gharyan To the West
1. Aziziya
2. Warshifana
3. Zawia
4. Surman
5. Sabratha
Deployment ban
With the declaration, the DFA will no longer allow Filipinos working in the areas covered by Alert Level III to travel to Libya until the situation in the country stabilizes and the alert level is lowered back to II.
In view of this, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) expressed readiness to implement the deployment ban as well as the voluntary repatriation of OFWs there.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the DOLE is ready to impose such the ban and repatriation once it receives an official report from the DFA.
“Officially, hindi pa namin natatanggap yung report ng DFA [Officially, we have not received the report of the DFA yet.] But we still have to prepare for that by convening the board of the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration),” said Bello during a radio interview Tuesday. Move to safer areas
The DFA called on Filipinos in areas near the fighting should move to safer areas or may request the Embassy for assistance in their repatriation before the fighting intensifies.
According to the DFA, the Embassy will remain open to respond to requests for assistance from Filipinos who might be affected by the fighting.
The eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar – a former general in Gaddafi's army – said 19 of its soldiers died in recent days as they closed in on the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.
A spokesman for the Tripoli-based Health Ministry said fighting in the south of the capital had killed at least 25 people, including fighters and civilians, and wounded 80.
Start repatriation plans
With the closure of the Mitiga Airport, Binay urged manpower agencies to start planning for contingencies, including the possible evacuation of deployed OFWs.
Likewise, the lawmaker called on OFW families to inform DFA of their relatives who are staying in Libya undocumented.
“Whether they are documented or undocumented, let us help our compatriots in Libya and include them in our contingency plans,” she added.
Authorities have said that there are more than 1,000 registered Filipinos in Libya, but about 90 percent of foreign/ migrant workers in the country do not have proper travel documents, and seldom receive consular support. (With reports from Reuters)