
The 398 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Negros Occidental in Lebanon have not asked to be repatriated despite the call for them to leave amid rising tensions between the Hezbollah and Israel, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
The last report he received is nobody has manifested that they want to come home, Lacson said.
The Negros Occidental provincial government has set up a help desk at the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) at the Capitol in Bacolod City for relatives of OFWs in Lebanon who may be seeking help.
According to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration there are 398 OFWs from Negros Occidental, 61 of whom are from Bacolod, still in Lebanon, Karen Dinsay, provincial PESO manager, said.
The Philippine government has offered assistance to OFWs working in Lebanon who want to be repatriated, she said. They will receive assistance from the national government when they arrive at the airport in the Philippines, Dinsay said.
Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac earlier said the national government would provide P150,000 financial assistance to Filipinos who would be repatriated from Lebanon.
The governor is also offering an additional P5,000 in assistance to Negrenses who return home from Lebanon, Dinsay said.
Psychosocial counseling will also be provided but until now no one has said that they want to come home, she said.
The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon last month strongly urged all Filipino citizens to leave Lebanon immediately while the airport remains operational.
“We advise all Filipino nationals to prioritize their safety and depart the country as soon as possible,” the statement said.*