290 Pinoys repatriated from Lebanon via chartered flight

A total of 290 overseas Filipinos were repatriated from Lebanon on Friday and boarded a chartered flight back to Manila, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Saturday.

The said flight left Lebanon at 2 p.m. (Beirut time) bearing 233 overseas Filipino workers and their 13 dependents, as well as 21 overseas Filipinos and their 23 dependents.

It made a stopover at the Doha International Airport for refueling, allowing Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Lilibeth Pono to meet the repatriates on board the plane.

The repatriates, accompanied by DMW-Migrant Workers Office attaché to Alkhobar Hector Cruz, are expected to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday morning.

The DMW, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Ankara, Turkiye, chartered the flight in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier this month to evacuate Filipinos "by whatever means" amid the unrest in the Middle East.

"The Philippine Embassy and the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Lebanon work hand-in-hand with the host government to facilitate travel documents for Filipinos to join this flight,” DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said in his report to Marcos, the department said in a news release on Saturday.

"We remain committed to the task at hand," DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said, adding that other Philippine embassies in the region such as those in Beirut and Doha also helped ensure that the flight will proceed.

The DMW said with the arrival of 290 Filipinos from Lebanon on Saturday, the total repatriates since October 2023 reached 903 Filipinos and 47 dependents.

Meanwhile, the MWO is caring for 69 Filipinos in shelters in Beirut, providing them food and other necessities, it said.

“We stand ready to assist those who are willing to be repatriated. We are encouraging OFWs to avail of the voluntary repatriation program. And sa pag-uwi nila (with their repatriation), a whole-of-government approach ang nakahanda (is ready), as directed by the President, with unprecedented financial assistance and other forms of support under the Bagong Pilipinas”, Cacdac said.

Repatriated Filipinos will receive P75,000 in financial aid through the DMW's AKSYON fund. An additional P75,000 will come from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and P20,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The Department of Health meanwhile is ready to provide free medical consultations and psychological first aid.

The repatriates will also be assisted by the DMW, through its National Reintegration Center for OFWs, in finding livelihood or alternative employment opportunities.

Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have been ongoing.

Alert Level 3 is in effect in Lebanon, meaning Filipinos may opt to be voluntarily repatriated. —KG, GMA Integrated News