THE PHILIPPINE Embassy in Beirut has vowed to double its efforts to aid Filipinos caught in war-torn Lebanon and the Middle East return to Manila through its voluntary repatriation programs.
“The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon commits to bring home every Filipino by any means possible due to the developing political and security situation in Lebanon and in the larger Middle Eastern region,” it said in a statement.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3 and Crisis Alert Level 3, which suspends the return of contract workers to the West Asian country.
Lebanon and Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire amid Syria’s political transition after the fall of the Al-Assad government.
The embassy said it worked with the Philippine Embassy in Damascus to process repatriation applications, citing a group of 25 Filipino workers and four children being repatriated on Dec. 26.
The 29 Filipinos was the largest batch of repatriated Filipinos by the embassy in the last two years after the fall of the Al-Assad Rule on Dec. 8.
Both embassies helped the group pass through the Masna Border between Lebanon and Syria.
“The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon coordinated with Lebanese Immigration General Security to secure clearances for the incoming Filipinos at the border and procured the tickets for the repatriation group,” it said.
More than 3,000 people have died in Lebanon since late September, Reuters reported. Israeli airstrikes and widespread detonation of homes destroyed more than 40,000 housing units in the country’s border, it said, citing Lebanon’s state news agency. —John Victor D. Ordoñez
