‘Even those without charges cannot go home. They already have passports and iqamas. Some even have children, babies here. For us, with cases against us, how can we possibly go home?’
(FILE PHOTO) An Israeli flag on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabal on November 25, 2024.
Jalaa Marey, AFP
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Marcos acknowledged the Philippines still has significant ground to cover relative to its regional and global peers.
The tensions in Lebanon, dating back to October 2023, have forced thousands of Filipinos to decide between returning to the Philippines or staying in the country to continue earning a living for their families.
Since the conflict began, an estimated 11,000 Filipino workers have remained in Lebanon. By the end of 2024, the number of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from conflict areas in the Middle East reached 2,532, including 1,409 OFWs and 59 dependents from Lebanon, 1,122 workers and 30 dependents from Israel, six from the West Bank, and two from Gaza.
Although Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire agreement in November, and despite the rising number of repatriated workers, many Filipinos still remain in distress, echoing the same question: “Until when must we wait?”
On 10 January, a group of OFWs went live on Facebook to seek help from Philippine government officials.
In the live video, one Filipina worker named Janicca, who is facing charges filed by her employer, said the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon had yet to process the papers of those with cases.
She also said that even workers with complete documentation, including passports and iqama (residence permits), were still awaiting repatriation.
“Even those without charges cannot go home. They already have passports and iqamas. Some even have children, babies here. For us, with cases against us, how can we possibly go home?” Janicca said in the live video.
In an interview with Marian, the Filipina worker who hosted the live stream, she said that 138 Filipinos were currently staying in the accommodations provided for them. Of this number, 15 are facing criminal charges filed by their employers, mostly related to theft. One worker has been stranded in Lebanon for over a year and two months.
Marian herself had filed for repatriation since November and recounted how they were promised they would be back home in time for the holidays.
“The authorities said our documents were already with General Security. Back in December, they told us we’d all spend Christmas in the Philippines. But Christmas came and we are still here. Now it’s January and we still have no updates,” she said.
For months, Marian and other Filipino workers in the accommodations have been persistently following up on their repatriation status, only to receive the same response: to wait and pray.
“How much longer do we have to wait? If we don’t seek help or find ways to ask for assistance from those in the Philippines, nothing will happen to us,” Marian said.
Cristy Lavador shared her experience of staying in the same accommodations before successfully returning to the Philippines in October.
During her stay, she met several workers featured in the live video. Unlike many others, however, Lavador was able to go home after waiting just a few weeks.
“Some of them are already at the airport, but their employers still file charges against them — they really can’t get through immigration,” Lavador said.
In an interview with Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac on Friday, 17 January, he admitted there have been recent difficulties in repatriating Filipinos in Lebanon. He said the delays were rooted in the Lebanese immigration service.
