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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 12 more Filipinos repatriated from Lebanon amid Israel-Hamas war

12 more Filipinos repatriated from Lebanon amid Israel-Hamas war

Published Dec 16, 2023 07:29 am

The Philippine Embassy in Beirut sent home 12 Filipinos amid continued tensions there between Hezbollah, a known ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Lebanon_repat.jpgPhilippine Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat (sixth from the right) with the third batch of overseas Filipinos who are permanent residents and dual citizens in Lebanon including their minor children. (Photo from Philippine Embassy in Beirut)

In a statement, the DFA said the 12 distressed Filipinos consisted of nine permanent residents of Lebanon, one overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was staying at the Migrant Workers Office’s shelter, and one recently released detainee.

“The repatriates expressed their gratitude to the Embassy for facilitating their return to the Philippines during the crisis alert level 3 in Lebanon,” the statement read.

According to the DFA, most repatriates reside in “Saida and Nabatiyeh, areas near the southern border of Lebanon and Israel, where the exchanges of airstrikes and artillery fire occur with regular frequency.”

The DFA assured that the embassy “continues to monitor the situation across Lebanon and provides updated safety measures and advisories to Filipino nationals.”

The Philippine government raised Alert Level 3 in Lebanon in October this year, a few weeks after Hamas ambushed southern Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,400 people there.

With the raising of the Alert Level 3 there, the Philippines also activated its voluntary repatriation program for affected Filipinos, especially those living near the southern border of Lebanon where Hezbollah holds its bases.

The DFA said there was a total of 110 Filipino nationals who have availed of the repatriation program and are “safely back” in the Philippines as of Dec. 12.

The repatriation of Filipinos are being facilitated by the Philippine Embassy’s Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Section, the Migrant Workers Office, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The voluntary repatriation program remains open to Filipino nationals who wish to return to the Philippines. They may visit https://tinyurl.com/2023Repatriation for more information.

Related Tags

Department of Foreign Affairs Repatriation Alert Level 3 Lebanon Hezbollah
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