President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, October 9, told the concerned government officials to evacuate the Filipinos in Lebanon in any way possible as the country is still under Alert Level 3 due to the tensions between the Israeli Defense Force and militant group Hezbollah.
The Chief Executive said this in an interview with the Philippine media in Laos and a Zoom meeting with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año during the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.
According to Marcos, he had called for an online meeting with Cabinet officials as the situation in Lebanon is ”changing.”
“We are now going to evacuate our people by whatever means—by air, or by sea. Kung may barko tayong kukunin, nandiyan na malapit na sa Beirut na sandali lang basta’t the Embassy gives us the clearance and they say that our people can go, mailabas na kaagad natin so that hindi sila naghihintay ng matagal in danger areas,” Marcos said in the Zoom meeting.
“We are going to have to evacuate them. Now, how we will do that is something that we still have to determine because it is an evolving situation. So, bantayan na lang natin,” he added.
For his part, Teodoro told Marcos that the repatriation would start once they get all the necessary exit clearance.
In the media interview, reporters asked Marcos if the country would now be put on Alert Level 4 because it is in the middle of a fight between Israel and Hezbollah.
”Hindi pa. It depends on the situation there and the ones who will assess there is the DFA and the embassy,” Marcos said.
Alert Level 3 means that Filipinos can choose to be sent home alone. If Alert Level 4 is raised, on the other hand, it means that the Philippine government will order all Filipinos to go back home.
Mrcos added that he is getting reports from time to time regarding the crisis in the Middle East. Hence, the Chief Executive said the government issued a directive to shipping companies that they shouldn’t pass through the dangerous areas.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that as of October 8, the Philippine Embassy in Beirut had received 1,721 requests to send people back to their home country. Of these, 511 had already been repatriated and 171 were ready to be sent back.
Filipinos who have been sent back to their home country from Lebanon will get P150,000 in cash from the government through the Aksyon Fund for Migrant Workers and the Emergency Repatriation Fund for Overseas Workers.
So far, the Philippines has not reported any Filipinos who have died or been hurt in Lebanon.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to respond to Marcos Jr.’s latest directive. (TCSP)
