MANILA — The government has assured overseas Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that necessary measures are being undertaken in preparation for a possible escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday, Oct. 2.
“We already anticipated those events. Our contingency plans in Israel, Lebanon, and Iran include ‘yung ganyang—the situation will become worse,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said in a Malacañang briefing.
Olalia said a “veteran labor attaché” will be deployed to oversee the situation in Lebanon in coordination with the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Beirut.
He added that Philippine officials will work “round the clock” to ensure the safest routes for evacuation and to facilitate the repatriation of Filipinos affected by the conflict.
Late last week, Olalia said that MWOs in the Middle East are on standby should the situation in Lebanon worsen.
Last Saturday, the DMW renewed its call for Filipinos to leave Lebanon before the armed confrontations between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the West Asian country escalate further.
There are over 11,000 Filipinos with their dependents in Lebanon, based on DMW records.
Registration is ongoing for those who wish to return home. The list already has about 1,100 individuals who wanted to be repatriated, the DMW told the media on Sept. 30.
However, some of them changed their minds about being repatriated at the last minute.
Fifteen OFWs are slated to be brought back to the country on October 3. (PIA DMD)
