The Philippine embassy in Beirut has deferred the situation of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) as the alert level in Lebanon remained at Level 3.

The Department of Foreign Affairs placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3 in October 2023 as tensions were high due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

This meant the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos to the Philippines at their employers’ expense or through government repatriation programs.

Last week, Evelyn Malaiba, an OFW in Lebanon for 15 years, joined a protest outside the Philippine embassy seeking to lower the alert level in the country so she could go home to the Philippines to grieve the loss of her son who died in a motorcycle accident.

She told DAILY TRIBUNE that alert level 3 made it difficult for her to come home as she would not be allowed to return to Lebanon.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said that cases similar to Malaiba’s may receive exemptions from the government to allow them to fly to the Philippines and subsequently return to Lebanon.

Speaking to the Tribune’s Usapang OFW, Philippine Ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat said it was up to the DFA to determine the alert level noting that any recommendation by the embassy may be reversed by the department as the safety of Filipinos remains a high priority.

However, in cases like Malaiba’s, the DMW could consider their emergency and provide them with an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) validating their employment overseas.

‘We do have a contingency plan in place and we are ready to implement it.’

“Maybe we could discuss this matter with [the] DMW because they are the ones who issue the OEC that proves that the person is a returning worker, that she was not illegally recruited or trafficked but a valid worker. Perhaps we could look at how we could give some consideration, humanitarian consideration for those OFWs, especially those who have a family member who died, or some other emergency. We will look at this matter to see if it’s feasible for the Migrant Workers Office,” Balatbat told DAILY TRIBUNE in Filipino and English.

Earlier, the DFA said it would discuss the matter with Secretary Cacdac.

Meanwhile, the embassy in Lebanon has a contingency plan should an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah break out.

“We do have a contingency plan in place and we are ready to implement it. We’ve identified shelters where Filipinos can go, and what will happen is in the first few days, people will just have to hunker down to get a good idea of what’s happening and from there we will try to mobilize the Filipino community and arrange for their repatriation,” Balatbat said.

According to the ambassador, the total number of Filipinos in Lebanon is at 11,000 from the previous 17,000.

But Balatbat is hopeful there will be no escalation of the conflict.

“I think the international community is doing its best to dissuade both Lebanon and Israel from going to war. The people of both countries do not want to go to war,” he said.

He likewise assured Filipinos in the region that the embassy is looking out for their best interest and is ready to assist them.