The Philippines is looking to charter flights to bring home Filipinos from Lebanon

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienof, A reporter

THE Philippine government on Thursday said it was preparing chartered flights to bring home Filipinos from war-torn Lebanon, as it announced a freeze on sending workers there.

There were 101 Filipinos in Lebanon who were ready to be repatriated, but “the challenge is that we don’t have the planes,” Migrant Labor Secretary Bernard Olalia told a news conference.

He said the government was supposed to bring home 15 Filipinos from the Middle Eastern country on September 25, but it did not go through because the flights were canceled due to the conflict.

“And because of that, we’re trying to provide charter flights.”

Mr. Olalia said there are three other shelters secured in Beirut in case more Filipinos show their intention to leave. He added that the Philippines was having trouble getting landing rights for chartered flights.

“Another challenge is the exit permits for some of our employees,” he said. “Apart from documented Filipino workers (OFWs), we have documents for OFWs who need to obtain travel documents.”

“And once they are given travel documents, we will help them get exit visas or immigration permits. [office] of the government of Lebanon.”

Mr. Olalia said the Department of Immigration is studying the possibility of using other routes. “Besides the air route, we will be checking the sea and the land route if there is a case or the situation worsens.”

He said the Philippine government will no longer allow OFWs to be sent to Lebanon because the Department of Foreign Affairs AffAirs (DFA) raised the warning level to 3.

“When Alert Level 3 is placed, there is a voluntary repatriation, and under this category, we no longer allow direct employment or returning workers to return there.”

Earlier, the DFA said it may declare Alert Level 4 in the war-torn country, whose southern part was attacked by Israel to consolidate the armed group Hezbollah, which had a month-long war with Israel in 2006.

The tensions are the latest in a series of cross-border conflicts after Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

In a statement released earlier this week, the Israeli military said its forces, backed by airstrikes and artillery, had launched “limited, localized and targeted attacks against Hezbollah terrorist targets,” accusing them of posing an “immediate threat” to communities in northern Israel.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said on Tuesday that “there was no direct conflict” with Israeli forces, denying that they were in southern Lebanon, according to a Reuters report.

The group was “prepared to directly confront enemy forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanese territory and inflict heavy losses on them.”

The Philippines last month joined 123 other countries in agreeing to a United Nations resolution urging Israel to stop occupying Palestinian territories within a year.

Israel’s settlement activities included the transfer of its peoples to “captured lands,fiExpropriation of land, forced transfer of Palestinian citizens, including Bedouin families, “according to the decision of November.

These settlements include “exploitation of natural resources, alienation and other actions against Palestinian citizens.”

The Gaza Strip is one of two Palestinian enclaves – the other being the West Bank, which the Israeli government has been trying to invade in recent years.

These two areas, along with East Jerusalem, came under Israeli control after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Since the start of the war, Israel has responded to Palestinian demands for land through military force.

OFWs IN QATAR
Also on Wednesday, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel called for measures to better protect the rights and welfare of migrant Filipinos, as she will meet distressed OFWs in Qatar who have been victims of harassment and abuse.

During his official visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the senator will meet at least 50 OFWs who have been victimized by their employers. He will also meet with the Philippine diplomatic and labor officommunity leaders and migrant community leaders to discuss how the Philippine government can ensure the safety of migrant workers, he said in a statement.

Ms. Hontiveros, who heads the Senate committee on women and children, expressed shock at the acts of physical and emotional abuse, as well as the unfair working practices practiced on Filipino workers in Qatar, especially domestic workers.

“According to government records, 57% of OFWs deployed in Qatar are domestic workers, and most of them are women who are at risk of abuse by their employers,” she said.

Ms. Hontiveros said that migrant workers fromfiin Qatar and other countries in a similar situation should be properly trained to better help Filipino workers in distress, especially “runaway” workers who face threats from their employers.

He also urged the Department of Immigration and DFA to strengthen their powers to monitor and reach out to distressed workers.