Gaddafis ask Pinoy househelpers to stay

MANILA, Philippines - The family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly asked 4 of their Filipino househelpers to stay behind in the country.



The 4 Filipinos, who have yet to be identified, have yet to get in touch with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) amid the ongoing repatriation of thousands of overseas Filipino workers from Libya.

The DFA said Sunday that some 1, 327 Filipinos have already left Libya. Of these, some 249 have reached Manila.

A total of 151 Filipinos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Sunday after being repatriated by their employers in Libya. The Filipinos arrived in three batches.

Won Constructions employees and engineer Judith Tuvera who crossed from Tobruk in Libya to Alexandria with her employer arrived with 47 OFWs who were employees of Marriot Hotel in Libya on Sunday morning together on board Gulf Airways.

Meanwhile, 34 OFWs arrived in the afternoon via Gulf Airways.

Another 19 OFWs - 15 engineers and employees of Akakus Oil Company, 2 medical staff of Tripoli Medical Center, and 2 employees of Consolidated Contractor International Company - also arrived via Qatar Airways.

The 12 workers of Won Constructions were from Tobruk. They were met by a team from the Philippine Embassy in Cairo at an outpost in Al Sallum, a border town in Egypt. The OFWs proceeded to Cairo where they were flown to Bahrain to take their flight to Manila.

The 81 OFWs from Marriot Hotel were evacuated from Tripoli and were flown to Amman by their employer onboard a chartered flight. From there, they were brought to Bahrain where they took 2 batch flights to Manila.

Meanwhile, 15 OFWs were flown to Madrid before they were brought to Bahrain. Other 4 OFWs who arrived on board Qatar Airways were flown from Tripoli to Malta. From Malta, all 19 OFWs were flown to Bahrain where their employers scheduled their flights to Manila.

All 3 batches were welcomed by a team from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) led by DFA-OUMWA special assistant Enrico Fos and OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon, respectively.

Another batch of 36 OFWs from Asia Konstruct and 2 OFWs from Moscow will arrive on Sunday night

The DFA said it is now on “full relocation and repatriation mode” in view of the escalating violence in Libya.

It has mobilized its other embassies and consulates general to assist Filipinos who will be arriving in their countries from Libya.

There are also 24-hour landline numbers for families of Filipinos based in Libya, at 834-4580, 834-3245, 834-3240, and 834-4646.

"Our objective is to undertake the relocation and repatriation as quickly as possible. We are fully committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of our beloved Filipinos in Libya," DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

Del Rosario, Foereign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos, and a DFA team are now in Jerba, near the border to facilitate the cross-over of Filipinos into Tunisia.

source: abs cbn