DFA CHIEF BACK FROM LYBIA EXODUS ORDEAL; OFWs CROSS DESERT RISKY JOURNEY
MANILA, MARCH 2, 2011 (ABS-CBN NEWS) By Gretchen Malalad and Jasmin Romero, ABS-CBN News - Department of Foreign (DFA) acting Secretary Albert del Rosario revealed on Tuesday the ordeal that he and other officials went through in pulling out thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Libya.
Del Rosario arrived Tuesday afternoon onboard an Emirates Airlines flight after he and a DFA team brought to safety some 400 Filipinos Sunday.
The DFA secretary went to Tunisia on Saturday morning, just a little over 24 hours after he was appointed to head the DFA, to personally oversee the repatriation operations.
He then proceeded by plane to Djerba, which is the city nearest to the Libyan border.
Smile diplomacy
He, together with Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr., an embassy officer and a driver, travelled by land to Libya on Sunday morning.
When del Rosario's team reached the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli, they immediately organized a convoy of 40 vans and buses to bring some 400 OFWs to the Tunisian border.
He said they had a hard time renting bigger buses to drive the OFWs to the border because they were outbid by other countries.
Also, travelling overland was not easy. The team had to pass through about 20 checkpoints manned by either government or anti-government forces.
"There were about 20 checkpoints and as we approach these checkpoints I would say "Ok smile!" Let's see if we can get through this by smiling. We said we would utilize smile diplomacy," he said.
Possibilities
The DFA secretary also told media the different means of transportation they planned to tap to get Filipinos out of Libya.
"We have studied the possibility of landing a plane to Tripoli but the airport closed up. In addition to that, we understood that the United Nations had imposed a no fly zone in Libya. We didn't get the details on that until much later," he said.
They also attempted to get a ship much earlier but other countries beat them to it by outbidding them.
"Each time that we would be at that point where we would finalize the contract of the ship, we would lose it for some reason. I think it is being sold to the highest bidder. Situation was such that we were being outbid by any other countries looking to get out as well," he said.
The Philippine embassy in Greece was finally able to charter a ship, the Ionian Queen, to repatriate Filipinos from Libya.
The ship will transport Filipinos to the Island of Crete where a DFA crisis team will be waiting for them.
Del Rosario said they had to make do with little resources compared to other countries like Britain and the United States that have warships and use military aircraft to airlift their people.
The DFA chief, meanwhile, said they have a problem repatriating 6,000 Pinoy nurses in Libya because an order was reportedly released requiring health workers to stay in hospitals.
He said nurses on leave were able to go with the DFA team.
Del Rosario also advised OFWs to go to evacuation areas in Tripoli.
Del Rosario admitted that the government's resources are limited but he believes that they still have a good working relationship in Libya.
"To begin with, our resources are so limited. I went there just to be sure that our strategy of protecting the overseas workers wasn't late. We looked at possibilities. I think we have good working relations there," Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario also defended the DFA from several criticisms it received from various sectors of society.
"I am not saying we have a perfect strategy there. We don't. But we are trying to do our best," del Rosario said in a press briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
OFWs told to stay if no imminent threat exists
The DFA continue to advice Filipinos to stay where they are if there is no imminent threat to their lives.
"Don't aspire to make a run for the border when you are not being threatened," Del Rosario said.
"If in a safe area, stay where you are. If you can contact us, try to do that. If you contact your relatives, let them contact us. Then we will make an assessment for you on whether to stay where you are or move to an area where we can pick you up," he added.
Government estimates that there are about 26,000 Filipinos based in Libya.
According to the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) as of Tuesday afternoon, some 2,324 Filipino nationals have safely exited Libya and a total of 473 OFWs have arrived safely in Manila.
"No idea how many are left. We are just saying to ourselves maybe less than 10,000. Maybe some of those 10,000 are not in areas of conflict," said Del Rosario.
109 OFWs crossing desert
In a Skype video conference with ABS-CBN News, Catholic priest Fr. Allan Arcebuche revealed that there are 109 OFWs, currently trapped between the borders of Tunisia and Libya, who have been calling for help.
Unfortunately, he said these OFWs have not received any.
Arcebuche said the food and medical supplies of these OFWs are fast dwindling, and they have limited blankets to keep them warm. There are no other sources to replenish their food supplies, and the OFWs have been eating only once a day, he added.
Arcebuche said the DFA hasn't extended any help to the OFWs to provide them their basic needs.
Most of the 109 trapped OFWs have thus decided to cross the desert, which is a 650-km journey to the Algerian border.
He said the OFWs decided to take the risky journey despite security concerns.
Arcebuche said weather conditions in the deserts are erratic. There are also no law enforcers present, only tribal groups that can potentially be violent.
He called for an immediate DFA post to be formed along the Algerian border to meet and care for the OFWs.
Worried wife
Meantime, Nieva Valderama, wife of trapped OFW, Renato Valderama, is now very worried about her husband's situation.
According to her, communication with Renato has been very difficult. The last time they spoke was two days ago. She said she was worried after hearing that they have almost nothing to eat and could be traveling towards the Algerian border through the desert.
Valderama called on the government to make sure that their loved ones are safe. She also asked for financial assistance since she has not received her husband's remittance for quite some time now.
Del Rosario has promised to look into the report of the 109 OFWs.
Resolute, speedy repatriation ' Meanwhile, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) urged the Aquino government to conduct "resolute and speedy" repatriation of OFWs trapped in Libya.
In a press conference, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Sangguniang Pambansa ng mga Simbahan sa Pilipinas, Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, among other groups of the NCCP, called for quick action by the Philippine government in rescuing OFWs, and for the Libyan government to respect human rights.
They also expressed their concern after hearing the reports from their missionary group in Libya, that government's efforts to help trapped OFWs have been sluggish.
Pam Pangilinan of Migrante International also called on the government to be more decisive in dealing with the problems in Libya.
2,000 OFWs cross Egypt border
More than 2,000 Filipinos from Benghazi, Sarir, Al Bordi, and other parts of eastern Libya have crossed the Egypt border.
An ABS-CBN News team led by the Middle East and Europe Bureau Chief Danny Buenafe arrived at Egypt's Salloum border, which many Filipinos used to escape from Libya.
Consul General Renato Duenas said almost 1,500 OFWs from Libya went to Alexandria, where their employers gave them hotel accommodation and plane tickets.
The Philippine embassy in Cairo processed their exit and entry visas.
Nearly 1,000 who don't have passports were given temporary travel documents for their flight back to Manila, Duenas added.
Duenas admitted that the exodus of Filipinos from Libya has become a logistics nightmare for the DFA.
The large number of people crossing the Libya-Egypt border has resulted in a gridlock in the immigration post in the area, reports said.
The site has turned into a refugee area, where people wait for their visas and vehicles that will bring them to Cairo and other cities in Egypt.
A group of Filipinos that crossed the border said they have nothing to return to Libya because armed men torched their work site.
They are now concerned about their future because they said no jobs are waiting for them in the Philippines.
Quiet calm in Carthage
Meanwhile, the situation remained calm at the Carthage International Airport in Tunisia, with only a few people travelling.
An ABS-CBN News team saw a group of Filipinos who also fled Libya.
Their employer, WSP International Sweden, initiated efforts to have them leave Libya for Tunisia.
The group includes Floro Galinato, Rosauro Calonia, Rolando Torres, and Freddrick Valencia.
They were glad to escape the unrest but are worried about their return home because they left Libya empty-handed.
Valencia's brother, Michael, was left behind in Libya and has to travel by land to cross the Libyan-Tunisian border toward Djerba in Tunisia, where many Filipinos sought refuge. – with reports from Danny Buenafe, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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