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Monday, August 07, 2006
Arroyo seeks safe passage for Lebanon evacuees
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sunday asked Hezbollah militants and Israeli soldiers to allow civilians to pass and leave Lebanon safely.
Arroyo's appeal came as the repatriation of 465 Filipinos in the war-torn country was delayed when the International Organization for Migration (IOM) deferred operations after Israeli forces bombed the highways leading to the Syrian border.
The President pleaded with the conflicting parties to free the routes being used for evacuation and other humanitarian purposes.
She added she would continue to monitor the situation in Lebanon closely even if she has tapped Task Force Lebanon under Vice President Noli de Castro to oversee the repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
"The government will continue to provide the leadership, the diplomatic support, and the resources to bring our nationals out of harm's way. The situation is fraught with danger and every prayer of hope and deliverance counts," she said.
"This is a challenge addressed to the whole Filipino nation as the possibility of an early truce dims, and the call for unity and steadfastness mounts," Arroyo added.
The Israelis on Friday bombed the bridges between Jonüié and in Tripoli, which are the main routes being used in evacuating Filipinos in Lebanon towards Syria.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said the route to Cyprus had been activated following the bombing and the relocation site at the St. Joseph the Laborer Church in Beirut had also been reopened.
The main relocation site for OFWs, the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal, remains open. Other alternative routes being considered are the combined land and sea routes from Beirut to Syria, and mostly sea travel from Beirut--either to Rhodes in Greece, Mersin in Turkey, and Port in Egypt.
Rafael Seguis, another foreign affairs undersecretary who is in Damascus, suggested using a route from Beirut to Latakia to reach Syria after he and special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu assessed the damage caused by the bombing.
A fifth route being considered is hiring a ship or bringing a Philippine ship to Lebanon using the Mediterranean route which would pass through the Malacca Strait, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal before reaching Beirut. The cruise, if traveling at 19 knots, is expected to reach Beirut in 14 days.
Foreign Affairs Spokesman Gilberto Asuque said Filipinos making up the 22nd batch of would-be returnees would spend Sunday night at IOM's temporary shelter in Kafr Seta.
"The IOM is still arranging to charter an aircraft for the stranded OFWs. For sure they will not arrive on Sunday as earlier scheduled," he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also reported that the Philippine Embassy in Athens, Greece has assisted an OFW to return to the Philippines after her Lebanese-Australian employers flew to Australia, leaving her behind in Cyprus.
Ambassador to Greece Rigoberto Tiglao reported that 26-year-old Brylyn Vilocis Ecoy of Bacolod, who arrived in Beirut only last July 11, was evacuated to Cyprus together with her employers on July 22.
Ecoy's employers, who hold Australian passports, immediately flew to Australia and left her to fend for herself in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus. Cypriot port authorities issued her a visa valid for 15 days.
Ecoy on July 31 sought the help of Philippine Honorary Consul in Cyprus Vanthoula Tsaousis Constantinides for her immediate repatriation to the Philippines.
Constantinides arranged for her temporary shelter with a member of the Filipino community in Cyprus and gave her some cash. The consulate then contacted Consul Eleanor Jaucian in Athens and informed her of Ecoy's plight.
Tiglao said that embassy officials immediately organized Ecoy's repatriation to the Philippines with the assistance of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) representative in Athens. (JMR/ECV/Sunnex)
(August 7, 2006 issue)
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