as Israel invades Lebanon
\n MANILA
\nThe Philippines is trying to arrange flights for hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Beirut, the government said Wednesday, as it struggles to bring them to safety in the wake of Israel\u2019s invasion of Lebanon.
\nMore strikes, with the numbers expected to rise as Israel also launched its ground invasion of Lebanon on Tuesday.
\nDozens of Filipinos in Beirut have sought shelter at the Philippine government\u2019s Migrant Workers Office. As its vicinity was bombed by Israeli forces over the weekend, they have since been sheltered in a hotel in Beit Mery, a town overlooking Beirut, as they await repatriation.
\n\u201cThere are presently 101 Filipino workers in our shelters ready to be repatriated,\u201d DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told reporters in Manila.
\n\u201cThe challenge is that we do not have flights \u2026 We\u2019re talking to some airline companies so that the chartered flights will be able to accommodate for example no less than 300 overseas Filipino workers from Beirut.\u201d
\nOlalia said that while the government was facing several challenges, including securing landing rights for chartered flights, other options were also being considered in case the situation escalated.
\n\u201cThe DMW is also studying the possibility of other routes. Apart from the air route, we will be assessing the sea and the land route, should \u2026 the situation there worsen,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe have men on the ground. They work around the clock. And we augmented our staff both in Lebanon (and) nearby posts to be able to provide (the) safest route to evacuate and ultimately to facilitate the repatriation of our OFWs.\u201d
\nMigrante International, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers, told Arab News on Tuesday that the Philippine nationals it has been in touch with have expressed \u201curgent concern\u201d for their safety.
\n\u201cThey are worried about the bombings and the explosions coming closer to their homes, in their communities. So, they are worried for their safety, they are worried for their life and not being able to go back home safely to their families,\u201d Migrante International President Joanna Concepcion said.
\n\u201cThey feel there is nowhere safe anymore. They feel that Israel can target anywhere, anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
as Israel invades Lebanon MANILA The Philippines is trying to arrange flights for hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Beirut, the government said Wednesday, as it struggles to bring them to safety in the wake of Israel\u2019s invasion of Lebanon. More strikes, with the numbers expected to rise as Israel also launched its ground invasion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-434979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n