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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Pinoys in war-torn Lebanon moved to churches
MANILA -- The Philippine embassy in Lebanon has initiated the relocation of Filipinos in Beirut to Christian churches, which have been perceived as relatively safe places amid the continuing attacks by Israeli forces.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has authorized charge d'affairs Walter Salmingo of the Philippine embassy in Beirut to raise the contingency plan for Filipinos in the war-torn state to alert level 3, referring to the relocation of all Filipino nationals to pre-designated safe areas.
Foreign Affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. identified the Church of the Miraculous Medal in Achrafieh in the Christian district of Beirut, some eight kilometers from the embassy, as the first relocation site of 115 to 120 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) initially sheltered at the embassy's Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC).
"As of today (Monday), we are on alert level 3. We are relocating some 30,000 OFWs, but we cannot move them all at the same time. There has to be an orderly movement," Conejos said in a press briefing Monday.
Conejos said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has made representations with Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, for the Filipinos in Lebanon to use Catholic churches and other religious facilities as relocation sites.
The DFA has requested Filoni to convey the request to the Vatican in Rome. Aside from the Miraculous Medal church, two other churches have been activated. One of them is the St. Joseph's Church.
"It's not likely that the Israelis would attack the Christian areas because their targets are pre-planned, very specific. It's not like carpet-bombing, but there are sure to be collateral damage, that's why we are preparing for alert number 4, which is evacuation, in the event that the situation worsens," he added.
The heightened security alert was upon the recommendation of the DFA's crisis management committee following Salmingo's report on July 14 of the worsening security situation in Beirut as well as the need for some embassy personnel, particularly women staff members and their dependents, to be temporarily accommodated either in East Beirut or in Jounieh in the Christian side, about 21 kilometers north of Beirut.
Ambassador Roy Cimatu, head of the presidential Middle East Preparedness Team, is scheduled to fly to Lebanon on Monday night pursuant to instructions of the Palace for him to "take measures that will put Filipinos in Lebanon out of harm's way."
Cimatu, who headed the Philippine mission that handled the Gulf War crisis at the height of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, said it would be best for Filipinos to stay with their employers, unless they have been abandoned, in which case they have to contact their respective area coordinators.
He said if the situation makes a turn for the worse, he would call for the immediate evacuation of Filipinos in Lebanon via the north route to cross the Syrian border.
"This is not an all-out war yet but if the relocation proved to be unsafe, then we will recommend evacuation," he said, adding that the safest move would be to get the Filipinos to Christian churches.
DFA officials said they already made representations with the government of Israel to allow the government to execute their plan of moving Filipinos away from the center of the conflict, which is concentrated in the southern Lebanese border near Jordan.
They also said they have ordered the consulate in Beirut to contract a boat that will ship Filipinos out of Lebanon to Cyprus.
Presidential chief of staff Micahel Defensor assured that the evacuation plan, including temporary resettlement areas for Filipinos staying in Lebanon, is already in place in case skirmishes in that country escalates.
He said authorities are monitoring the situation closely and trying to determine if the evacuation would just be temporary or Filipinos would have to be relocated to a different area permanently.
"The program has always been there for a full evacuation and for temporary sites where they can be placed, the centers where they can be taken not just in one area but where they can be airlifted later on permanently," he added.
He said a full confrontation among warring countries would lead to the evacuation.
He said Cimatu would be submitting an operational plan during a briefing with the President after she arrives from her two-day state visit in Libya.
Senator Ralph Recto, meanwhile, urged the government to use a portion of the P2.8 billion internal income of the DFA to fund the evacuation of OFWs from Lebabon.
"The DFA is an income-earning agency. In times of crisis, it should be given a little leeway in tapping its own collection. This time, not all of its money should go to the national treasury, some must go to Beirut (Lebanon's capital)," he said.
DFA earns revenue from passport and other consular fees.
Recto said other countries have been sending air and naval fleets to bring their people out of Beirut while OFWs just only need bus money to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
"If we can't give them bus money, then it will send a depressing message to their fellow OFWs, whose remittances are what is keeping our economy afloat and who are keenly watching how their government will help their fellow OFWs in distress," the senator said. (ECV/JMR/REC/Sunnex)
(July 18, 2006 issue)
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