Lebanon still off limits to Filipino overseas workers -- BI
Lebanon remains off limits to Filipino workers, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reminded on Monday, June 24.
“We urge Filipinos to refrain from accepting job offers in Lebanon due to heightened risks to their safety and well-being,” said BI Commissioner Tansingco in a statement.
“Do not engage in employment opportunities in Lebanon, as they pose risks of exposure to unsafe conditions. Your safety is more important,” he also said.
Tansingco reminded that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last year raised to crisis Alert Level 3 in Lebanon and since then has repatriated 273 Filipinos.
The warning was reiterated after a 57-year-old Filipina was intercepted by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 last June 21.
Citing a report from the BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), Tansingco said the woman claimed to be a tourist who will be visiting a relative in Thailand.
However, Tansingco said the woman admitted her real destination is Lebanon.
“She eventually confessed that travel documents she presented were counterfeit, provided solely by the recruiter whom she had only communicated with via Facebook Messenger,” the BI said.
“She admitted that the recruiter had instructed her to present herself as a tourist to mislead immigration officers during interviews,” it added.
It said it also found that “the female victim had previously worked as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) in Lebanon and wanted to return to work using illegal means.”