MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday spoke about government's efforts to evacuate Filipinos from Libya amid criticisms from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families that it was acting too slowly.
“We have sent 6 members of the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to assist the embassy there plus 5 from DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment). So we have sent 11 additional personnel to assist our citizens in Libya,” Aquino said in a press conference in Malacañang.
Aquino said the government is also negotiating with 2 airlines to evacuate Filipinos who want to leave Libya.
“We are negotiating with both PAL (Philippine Airlines) and a Middle Eastern airlines, I think it’s the Qatar Airways, to lease their planes to be able to bring back to the country those of our citizens who would want to come back here,” he said.
The president said the cost involved in leasing a plane is roughly P13-million per flight. The flight can accommodate between 200 to 300 passengers.
Standby fund ready
As for funding, Aquino said there is a standby fund for mandatory evacuation, which is accessible to the embassy and DOLE, amounting to P100 million.
“There are substantial funds that can still be released if there is a need to physically evacuate all of our citizens,” he added.
He explained that it is important to be very cautious when moving people around so as not to increase their danger.
“The problem with the actual evacuation, as you all know, there has been a lot of killings already in Libya, the question of safety of moving our people from wherever, to their destination also has to take in mind whether it increases their risks,” he said.
“The best that we can do at this point in time is first, instead of picking each and everyone from their individual places of employment or residences, have them in more manageable groups, so that when the opportunity arises when we can bring them to another country, be it by boat or by plane or over land routes, then we would be able to do so with the least amount of risk possible,” he explained.
Primary exit points
The government is working with both Tunisia and Egypt as the primary exit points of Filipinos fleeing Libya.
“Now if it’s possible, we are also talking to a shipping company na ang cost ay medyo quite exorbitant, about a million euros, kung sakaling kakailanganin to bring them to Malta, which is another nearby area. It really depends on where they are grouping together ano ba yung closest to exit Libya and get away from the violence that is happening there,” the president said.
On Tuesday, the DFA said it had raised its alert level in Libya to 3, which calls for voluntary repatriation of Filipinos.
“We are prioritizing dapat yung mga taong hindi kabilang sa mga kumpanyang may kanya-kanyang evacuation plans. Sinisigurado po natin na lahat ma-account, lahat maaabisuhan,” Aquino said.
Aside from government efforts, Aquino said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is also assisting Filipinos and other migrant workers in Libya.
“They are also drawing up plans and actualizing these plans to safeguard all of these migrants who are working in Libya. We are participating in their efforts. We are also asking their assistance to assist our citizens,” said Aquino.
When asked if Manila was planning to sever ties with Libya, the president said it “would not be the time to break relations with them”.
“Baka naman pag-initan ang mga kababayan natin doon. First duty of our government is to protect our citizens,” he stressed. (report from abs-cbnNEWS.com)
