PH Embassy in Lebanon to charter flights for repatriation

The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon will be organizing a chartered plane to take voluntary Filipino repatriates back to the Philippines over the next few days.

According to an advisory on Wednesday, interested Filipinos may register through https://tinyurl.com/2024Repatriation, and must prepare their passports and iqamas.

There is no need to submit a duplicate form, it added.

“The Embassy is actively coordinating with Lebanese authorities to expedite the urgent release of exit clearances for undocumented Filipino nationals,” read the advisory.

Israel in recent weeks has carried out ground incursions into parts of Lebanon in addition to air strikes, with the stated aim to go after the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Over the past year, Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,350 people over the last year and left nearly 11,000 wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced.

On October 9, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. directed Philippine government agencies to mobilize all available assets to repatriate Filipinos from affected areas in the Middle East.

As of October 14, the Department of Migrant Workers said that plane tickets have been booked for a total of 254 Filipinos in Lebanon, whose flights are scheduled from October 14 to 28.

Up to 300 Filipinos also have pending repatriation requests with the Lebanese authorities.

 "So, higit-kumulang 500 ang mga alam nating nagnanais na umuwi sa Pilipinas,” DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

There are 178 Filipinos also currently staying in shelters in Beirut amid the tensions in the Middle Eastern countries.

All in all, 460 Filipinos have gone back to the Philippines along with their 28 dependents, since the repatriation efforts of the Philippine government started last year.

Alert Level 3 remains hoisted in Lebanon, meaning Filipinos there may repatriate voluntarily. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News