MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 7, 2012) – At least 22 Filipino nurses and medical staffs working in Misrata City in Libya have been evacuated to safer grounds following fresh clashes between pro and anti-Gadaffi forces just 187 kilometers east of Tripoli, the Migrante-Middle East reported.
John Leonard Monterona, the group’s regional coordinator, said they received the report from other Filipinos in Libya who asked Migrante to monitor the volatile situation there.
He said communications in Misrata had been cut off and that there was no contact with the Filipino nurses and other medical staffs. Monterona said A Caritas priest, Fr. Allan Arcebuche, who is based in Tripoli, also confirmed the report.
“The report was later confirmed to us by Father Allan Arcebuche, a Caritas priest who is based in Tripoli. He informed us that the 22 OFWs just arrived last September 22 and were pulled out from Misrata only last Friday, 5 October,” Monterona said, citing report from the Filipino missionary priest.
Monterona added that he is still trying to get in touch with the PH embassy in Tripoli to confirm the whereabouts of the 22 Pinoy nurses and medical workers.
“We received information that they were pulled out from Misrata City without proper coordination to the Libyan National Transition Council (NTC). This caused alarm to the OFWs who immediately sought assistance from their kin, friend and fellow OFWs,” Monterona added.
Monterona called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to look into the report and the safety of those who evacuated. “The 22 Pinoy nurses and medical workers’ safety must be secured,” he said.
“The DFA must issue a proper advisory so that the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration could also issue a travel advisory for all Libya-bound OFWs whose deployment will be in Misrata City,” he added.
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