Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 25) — More Filipinos in Lebanon want to come home as tensions flare up with neighboring Israel, a foreign affairs official said on Wednesday.
Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said 113 Filipinos are seeking repatriation as of Tuesday, and getting them home would not be a problem.
“We have called for their voluntary repatriation,” De Vega said. “It’s just a matter of purchasing the commercial tickets.”
The foreign affairs official said the country will not send an aircraft for Filipinos leaving Lebanon, which is now under alert level 3 or voluntary evacuation.
He said around 17,500 Filipinos live and work in the Middle Eastern country, including around 100 in the southernmost areas that are encountering clashes between the militant group Hezbollah and Israel.
Focus on Gaza
De Vega said evacuating Filipinos from war-torn Gaza is the priority.He added that only humanitarian aid is allowed to enter the Palestininan enclave so far.Over 130 Filipinos are in southern Gaza, while three are in central Gaza where the Israeli Defense Force has conducted thousands of airstrikes.There are reports from the Philippine embassy that there are still three in Gaza City, one is a Filipino nun, and we respect her decision to stay in Gaza, and two composed of a father and child who actually returned to Gaza City to check the condition of the father-in-law,” he said.De Vega said there is no assurance that the spouses of Filipinos will be allowed to cross the Egyptian border should foreigners be allowed to exit.We are asking the government of Egypt to allow Palestinians but we will give their names,” he said. “We’re not going to pay for their tickets — this was the same formula we used in Sudan.De Vega sending assistance to Filipinos in Gaza is a challenge because of security risks.Repatriation of Filipinos in Israel, meanwhile, continues with 40 more people expected to arrive on Oct. 30.
More repatriates are expected and the lines remain open for applications seeking to come home.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said there is no confirmed reports of Filipinos taken hostage.Alert Level 2, which requires restricted movement, remains over the West Bank, but De Vega said this could change.
