MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / July 20, 2014) – The Philippines has ordered the mandatory evacuation of some 13,000 Filipino workers in Libya as fighting between state forces and militias continues.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has already raised Alert Level 4 in Libya in response to the extremely unstable political and security situation there.
Under Alert Level 4, the Philippine Government undertakes evacuation of Filipino nationals there as soon as possible. The DFA also told the Filipinos to get in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli. It said no Filipino workers will be allowed to travel to Libya.
Filipino migrants rights group Migrante said the peace and order situation in Libya is unstable and remains a serious concern for Filipino workers even before the DFA ordered Filipinos out of there.
It said the DFA and its diplomatic post in Tripoli failed to assess the real situation in Libya. “It is deteriorating as fighting escalates especially in areas where there are concentrations of OFWs,” John Leonard Monterona, of Migrante Middle East, said.
“How could the DFA renders a proper alert level and correctly advise the OFWs if its diplomatic officials are not keen on the actual peace and situation in Libya?” Monterona asked.
The DFA said a Filipino worker was abducted and beheaded by militias in Libya and his body was abandoned in a hospital.
Monterona said the DFA should have acted much earlier to evacuate Filipinos in Libya and not wait for the security situation to deteriorate further.
“Hindi pwede ang hula-hula lang sa anumang kalagayan naruruon ang ating mga kapwa OFWs sa Libya. Higit sa lahat inu-una ang kanilang kaligtasan,” he said.
Fighting has reached Libya’s main international airport July 20 where Misrata militias fired rockets and mortar rounds.
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