PH issues urgent call for Filipinos to leave Lebanon

MANILA: The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon called on Filipino nationals to leave Lebanon immediately while the airport remains operational amid rising tensions between the Hezbollah and Israel. 'We advise all Filipino nationals to prioritize their safety and depart the country as soon as possible,' the embassy said in an advisory dated Aug. 16. 'If you are unable to leave Lebanon, we strongly recommend that you evacuate to safer areas outside of Beirut, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley.' The department issued the urgent call as the situation in the country gets more intense and that there are 'indications of an imminent attack by Israel on Hezbollah positions,' Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migration Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said on Saturday. 'Filipinos remain adamant on staying there. The ones interested in leaving are those who just arrived recently,' he told the Philippine News Agency in a text message. 'In effect, the Embassy is saying that conditions in Beirut may look safe, but you never know. So, you should leave while you still can. Other countries are making similar calls to their citizens.' A total of 738 Filipino nationals earlier requested repatriation but 45 of them still have papers pending with immigration. Meanwhile, 15 cannot leave due to ongoing court cases while 322 have withdrawn their applications. Of the 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, more than 300 have returned home. Philippine Ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat, meanwhile, has yet to recommend raising the alert level in the country, where voluntary repatriation or alert level 3 is in effect. "As of raising alert level 4, we are closely monitoring the situation and making necessary preparations for the evacuation sites to absorb the expected amount of repatriates," he said. On Saturday, at least six were killed while three were injured in Nabatieh City, south of Lebanon during attacks that the Lebanese health ministry attributed to Israel. De Vega said there are still a "handful" of Filipinos in southern Lebanon but n one were affected by the attacks. "(The Philippine Embassy in Beirut) is validating the numbers of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) still residing in the big cities of Southern Lebanon like Nabatiyeh City, Tyre, and Sidon," he said. "There are no OFWs residing in border towns near the Blue Line where most of the fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah is taking place." Uncertainty lingers over a potential wider conflict in the region as Hezbollah threatens to retaliate against Israel over the death of Hamas' top political leader in Tehran and the killing of Hezbollah's senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month. Israel earlier said Shukr was responsible for the rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children. Source: Philippines News Agency