DFA: Half of Pinoys in Libya now out of harm

A little more than half of the 26,000 Filipinos in conflict-stricken Libya have exited the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday, as it winds up its repatriation efforts there expected to last until the end of next week. In a press conference, the DFA said a total of 13,990 Filipinos have exited Libya as of Wednesday night. Of the figure, a total of 6,552 are already in Manila. DFA Undersecretary for Administration Rafael Seguis said the department's "mop-up operations" are expected to last until the end of next week, even as the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli will continue attending to Filipinos there who may need assistance. "The number of people crossing Libya's border have significantly decreased. Officials stationed around Libya are winding the operation (but) we expect more Filipinos to arrive in the next few days," Seguis said. He said there are about 50 Filipinos in Tripoli and some 700 in Djerba who are still awaiting repatriation. In the same briefing, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said more Filipinos will be arriving in the next days aboard at least three chartered flights. These Filipinos, she said, were picked up by MV Ionian Queen, which the government likewise chartered to evacuate Filipinos from Libya. "We hope that those who have not yet made up their minds (on whether they want to be repatriated or not) will finally come out, so we can estimate how much more we should spend and how long (we should still continue our repatriation)," Baldoz said. For his part, DFA spokesperson Eduardo Malaya said they expected the decrease, during the last few days, in the number of Filipinos who say they want to be repatriated. "This is not inconsistent with our previous experience (of repatriating Filipinos in conflict-stricken areas)," said Malaya, citing the case of Egypt where only 97 of the 6,000 Filipinos there sought repatriation. "A lot of them are staying for personal reasons," Malaya added. Last week, the DFA raised its alert level for Libya to level 4, as the department vowed to seek out Filipinos who may still want to exit Libya in the last few days of the repatriation operations. Baldoz said over P400 million from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds has been spent for the government's repatriation efforts. A total of P525 million was earlier allotted for contingency measures in Libya. There are no instructions yet to increase the allocation for operations in Libya, she added. Helpers in Gaddafi kin's household In the same briefing, Seguis said the DFA is still trying to reach at least four Filipina domestic helpers deployed in the household of the nephew of beleaguered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "We are trying to reach (the domestic helpers') employers, through diplomatic channels," Seguis said, following reports that the helpers are stuck in the house of their employer. Baldoz belied reports that there are still about 200 domestic helpers in Libya who being forced to stay with their employers. The actual figure is much lower as most of the Filipinos there are skilled professionals, she explained. The DFA meanwhile responded to reports that one of its staff members stationed in Tripoli supposedly waved off overseas Filipino workers there seeking assistance, by allegedly telling them, "Magdasal na lang kayo; wala na kayong magagawa (Just pray because there is nothing more that you can do)." (See: Hirap na dinanas sa disyerto ng Libya, ikinuwento ng mga OFW) The staff member, identified as 55-year-old Jovencio Catbagan, said in a statement he no longer remembers when he said those words, or to whom, but he nevertheless expressed his apologies and said he did not mean to insult anyone. "Maraming tumatawag sa akin. Siguro dahil sa pagod, may tumawag mula sa Maynila, sinabi ko, 'Magdasal na lang tayo kasi ginagawa namin ang lahat ng makakaya namin. Tulungan niyo na lang kaming magdasal'," Catbagan said in the statement. (I had been receiving many calls. Perhaps due to exhaustion, when someone from Manila called, I may have said, 'Let us just pray because we are doing everything that we can. Just help us pray'.) He added the telephone assigned to him is the only line that can be reached by Filipinos both in Tripoli and in Manila. Seguis nevertheless said an "administrative inquiry" is underway to determine if Catbagan deserves to be penalized.—JV, GMA News