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.

ia/mnm

By Junex Doronio

DESPITE THE RAGING ARMED CONFLICT, more than 16,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) opted to stay in Lebanon as only six of them arrived in the Philippines early Friday morning.

Maharlika NuMedia learned that there are 17,000 Filipinos in Lebanon. Of the number, only about a hundred have requested for repatriation.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega earlier disclosed that many OFWs have decided to stay in Lebanon because of work, while some believe that the situation in Beirut is “business as usual.”

“We hope mas maraming sasagot dito at makauwi,” De Vega said.

The Philippine government placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3 on October 21, signifying voluntary repatriation.

The six OFWs arrived via Flight EK336 which departed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3  past 6 a.m.

The returning OFWs composed the first batch of repatriates from Lebanon amid the ongoing armed clashes there between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

(ai/mnm)