- Around 2,940 OFWs still remain in war-torn Libya despite orders for mandatory repatriation
- The DFA said that the government will bear all costs for the repatriation of OFWs in Libya
- Almost 6,000 Filipinos have returned home since the crisis in Libya began
A little over 2,900 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have chosen to keep staying in Libya as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues its efforts to repatriate OFWs still in the war-torn country.
The DFA have successfully brought back 24 Filipino workers from Libya earlier this March through the cooperation of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli.
Including the latest batch of repatriates, a total of 5,688 Filipinos have already returned home through the efforts of the government.
The DFA issued Crisis Alert 4 or mandatory repatriation on November 2015 citing the “continued political and security instability throughout the country, along with incidences of lawlessness and violence” as reason for issuing the call.
At the time, there was an estimated 3,043 Filipinos still living in Libya when the mandatory repatriation was issued. Now, only 2,940 of our countrymen have remain there despite increasing tensions.
In this light, the DFA through Philippine Embassy in Tripoli says it will continue the repatriation efforts and called on Filipinos still in the area to avail of the services offered by the government.
“The repatriation is a continuing program in response to the precarious peace and order situation,” the DFA told CNN Philippines while noting that the entire costs of returning Filipinos still in Libya will be shouldered by the government.
Filipinos still in Libya face increasing perils as the United Nations recently denounced human rights abuses committed by both sides of the ongoing crisis there.
At least one OFW was killed during a bombing in the city of Zawiya on March 2015 while eight other Filipinos were kidnapped by militia in different instances.
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