By Junex Doronio
MANILA – Amid escalating tensions in Lebanon, 15 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the troubled country have postponed their repatriation this week, hoping to return to the Philippines by next month.
This was revealed by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Felicitas Bay during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
“We recently received an update from our Migrant Workers Office that the repatriation has been rescheduled for October 2, so our fellow Filipinos, barring unforeseen circumstances, will arrive on October 3,” Bay told reporters.
She explained that the OFWs were originally set to return on September 26, but flights were suspended due to the heightened tensions in Lebanon.
The DMW official also mentioned that since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October last year, the government has successfully repatriated about 430 OFWs from Lebanon.
Bay emphasized that the repatriation remains voluntary, as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised the alert level in Lebanon to only Level 3.
“Again, this is a call for all Filipinos, not just OFWs, to heed the government’s advisory for voluntary repatriation,” Bay added.
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