September 30, 2024
MANILA – None of the estimated 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon has been reported injured, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday, a day after Israel staged air raids that killed Shia cleric Hassan Nasrallah of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah on Saturday.
Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Beirut declined government offers of repatriation last week.
But more Filipinos were stricken with panic after Israeli fighter jets dropped dozens of bunker-busting bombs on a number of buildings in Beirut’s Dahieh suburb.
“Malapit na dito sa amin. Malapit na (It’s getting close to us. It’s getting close),” OFW Cheryl Potoy said with evident fear in a video shared with the ABS-CBN News Channel. “Grabe ang pagsabog. Grabe. Nataranta po ako (The explosion was powerful. Powerful. I panicked.)”
The jet attack leveled at least six blocks in the Shia enclave and 33 were killed, including Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders. More than 195 others were injured.
Delayed homecoming
Potoy and other OFWs are now asking the government to evacuate them immediately, but an evacuation earlier set for Sept. 26 was postponed after the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport was shut down because of hostilities.
Only 15 OFWs were scheduled to take that flight, according to Undersecretary Felicitas Bay of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), but they are now expected to return on Oct. 3.
“The repatriation will be rescheduled or has been reset for Oct. 2, so our fellow citizens will arrive, barring unforeseen circumstances, on Oct. 3,” Bay said during a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday, before news of the Israeli air raid.
She reiterated the DMW’s call for Filipinos in Lebanon to avail of the voluntary repatriation program and leave the country as tensions continue to escalate due to the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
How to move 11,000
“There are over 11,000 Filipinos, along with their dependents, in Lebanon,” Bay noted, adding that 1,100 individuals have already expressed their desire to return home.
However, she acknowledged that some have backed out.
“We have received information that some have written or called to register, but later on said they are withdrawing their registration or that they are not pursuing what they had previously indicated,” she added.
The DFA said on Friday that preparations were under way to evacuate Filipinos in Lebanon should the conflict intensify. This was before the Israeli air raids.
De Vega said the Philippine Embassy in Beirut said the majority of OFWs declined the government’s evacuation offer.
“The mentality is they [would] rather take their chances here than go home. The old-timers, especially those who have endured previous wars, say they’ve seen it all and they will survive,” said Ambassador Raymond Balatbat, who participated in the briefing virtually.
Balatbat disclosed that more than 1,000 OFWs initially applied for repatriation, but half have since backed out.