DFA: 50 Pinoys in Libya heed 'last call', set to cross border to Egypt

At least 50 Filipinos in Libya’s embattled Benghazi area have heeded the Philippine government's "last call" to leave the strife-torn country and are set to cross into Egypt on Sunday. The Department of Foreign Affairs cited a report from the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli that the 50 will trek to the Egyptian border town of As-Sallum Sunday. "They will be welcomed and assisted by a group from the Philippine Embassy in Cairo stationed there to receive Filipinos crossing to the border," the DFA said in a news release posted on its website Saturday. DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) Executive Director Ricardo Endaya will lead the group that will travel across the border. He was earlier dispatched by DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario to Benghazi to seek out Filipinos still in Libya who would like to be repatriated. "With the 50 heading to Egypt, some 400 Filipinos are believed to still be in Benghazi," the DFA said. Earlier, Endaya was in Tobruk to search for Filipinos who may have found their way there from Benghazi. They will join three more Filipinos who arrived at the As-Sallum border and are being assisted by a team from the Philippine Embassy in Cairo. Last Tuesday, del Rosario issued a last call on Filipinos in Libya to go home. Earlier, del Rosario led 31 Filipino workers out of Tripoli through the Tunisian border, with some 10 nurses and others including dependents. The group joined 23 repatriates brought out of Libya's capital Monday by Ambassador Alejandro Vicente, and who are now in Djerba, Tunisia awaiting repatriation. A group of 30, including 19 Filipino students in Tripoli, also arrived in Djerba Thursday. Upon the instructions of del Rosario, DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis remained in Tripoli for a few more days to take care of the last-minute repatriates.—With Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News