Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac told the Manila Standard on Monday that the first batch of Filipinos to be repatriated from Lebanon is scheduled for October 11.
“We are arranging for the return of at least almost 200 within this month, both on commercial flights. But also we are sheltering around, also nearly 200 in three different shelters across Lebanon in Beirut. So we’re hoping to also bring them home,” Cacdac said.
He also confirmed that all Filipinos in southern Lebanon, where the conflict is most intense, have already been evacuated and that there has been a “growing interest” in the application for repatriation.
“We have the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) helping us assess the political and security situation. It’s Alert Level 3, after all, which means they could be voluntarily repatriated. We are closely monitoring the situation on the ground with the DFA,” Cacdac said.
The repatriation of Filipinos is scheduled across nine different flights, with the first batch set to depart on October 11. According to Cacdac, priority will be given to those who are medically ill, with subsequent flights following shortly thereafter.
Outbound flights were previously canceled due to the recent explosive attacks in Beirut, the DMW reported. Although the repatriation of 15 OFWs, initially scheduled for September 25, was postponed, Cacdac reassured that flights are set to commence on October 11.
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