Over 100 Pinoys in Lebanon ready to be repatriated —DMW

Over 100 Filipinos in Lebanon are ready to be repatriated amid Israel's offensive against the Hezbollah group, a Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) official said Thursday.

In an interview on Unang Balita, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said 111 Filipinos are just waiting for their departure from Lebanon while about 115 others are just waiting for their exit permits.

"One hundred eleven ang reding-ready nang umuwi at may karagdagan pang mahigit 115 ang ating inaayos ang tinatawag na exit permit sa immigration ng Lebanon," he said.

(One hundred eleven Filipinos are ready to go home and there are about 115 more just waiting for their exit permits from the immigration of Lebanon.)

"Kapag naayos 'yun (exit permit) ay mahigit 200 ang ready nang ilikas mula sa Lebanon," Olalia added.

(If the exit permits are processed then we have more than 200 that are ready to be repatriated from Lebanon.)

Olalia said they currently have four shelters where Filipinos in Lebanon seeking repatriation are currently housed.

"Inaasahan natin na sa mga susunod na araw ay lolobo po ang bilang ng mga gustong umuwi kaya po tayo nag-aantabay na at naghahanda na po," he said.

(We expect the number to increase in the coming days so we are preparing for that.)

Alert Level 3 remains hoisted in Lebanon, meaning repatriation is voluntary. 

A total of 430 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and 28 dependents have been repatriated from Lebanon so far through the joint efforts of the DMW, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Deployment of OFWs to Lebanon is no longer allowed as Alert Level 3 was already raised.

The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it was carrying out air strikes in Beirut against targets of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. —KBK, GMA Integrated News