Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President instructed the newly created task force led by Vice President Noli de Castro to facilitate the safe and orderly repatriation of some 30,000 Filipinos back to the Philippines amid the increasing tension between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

"As the President said we should bring our Filipino compatriots out of harm’s way. We should bring them home safely and we want zero casualty as far as the evacuation is concerned," Ermita announced in a news conference in the Palace.

The cost of the mass evacuation is estimated to reach R2 billion, according to Marianito Roque, administrator of the OWWA.

Ermita assured that the President has not put a ceiling on the price of the evacuation efforts, adding the government is ready to shell out more funds on top of the R1 billion earlier made available to the task force on the Lebanon crisis under Executive Order No. 551.

"The President said let the cost not be the reason for us not being able to evacuate them. We should not think of cost when we want the safety of our Filipinos out of Lebanon," Ermita said.

In the light of the President’s directive, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the task force was firming up an "expanded master plan" to facilitate "fast and organized" evacuation of Filipinos to escape the widening war in Lebanon.

Conejos said the "most critical part" would be the next two weeks as Israeli forces intensify their attacks against the Hezbollah militants. "The maximum effort for evacuation will be on the next two weeks," he said in the same press conference.

Conejos said evacuation master plan includes a door-to-door accounting of all Filipinos in Lebanon, the establishment of more safe relocation sites as staging areas, and identification of safe routes for the journey back to the Philippines.

He said the government was also considering the use of sea vessels aside from chartered planes to evacuate Filipino workers, mostly domestic workers, out of Lebanon.

Ermita said they have also coordinated with the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy that have earlier evacuated their nationals to help in the effort.

Apart from the augmentation of labor and foreign affairs personnel, the task force may also tap the assistance of the Armed Forces for the evacuation efforts, according to Conejos.

At present, Conejos said the government would prioritize the evacuation of Filipinos in southern Lebanon, the current site of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

The next priority area for evacuation would be the area between Sidon and Beirut where about 18,999 workers are situated, according to Conejos. Other Filipinos living in other cities and suburbs will be contacted by the Philippine embassy in Lebanon for later evacuation.

He said embassy officials would "reach out" to all Filipinos and ask them if they want to evacuate the war-torn country. He said those who refuse to leave Lebanon would be made to sign a waiver.

Under the evacuation plan, Conejos said the government would first move these Filipinos out of harm’s way, transport them in safer relocation areas, and then move them out of the country.

RP embassy in Beirut ordered to evacuate OFWs

By CHARISSA M. LUCI

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo yesterday directed the Philippine embassy in Beirut to conduct a safe and orderly evacuation of thousands of Filipinos in Lebanon.

Upon President Arroyo’s mandatory directive, Romulo ordered the embassy to raise Alert Level 4 all over Lebanon.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Task Force Lebanon, and all agencies involved in Oplan Sagip will immediately implement the President’s instructions to ensure that the Filipinos in Lebanon are brought out of harm’s way and spared from the dire consequences of this war," Romulo said in a statement.

He also instructed the embassy to establish a system of contacting each Filipino by telephone, cellular phones, text messaging, and personal visits to immediately inform the Filipino workers on the arrangement for the mandatory evacuation.

He also urged the embassy to enlist the assistance of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, churches, and non-government organizations, especially the International Organization for Migration for the evacuation and repatriation of the Filipinos.

He also asked Ambassador Al Francis Bichara to use the embassy’s emergency funds and other financial resources and to immediately inform the department of requests for replenishment of the funds.

Romulo also urged all embassies and consulates general and in countries of possible transit points in the Middle East to coordinate with airline companies for connecting flights to Manila, and to make representation with their Ministries of Foreign Affairs and immigration officials for the workers’ transit visas.

"We will be monitoring the developments in Lebanon as we implement the measures for the safe and orderly return to the Philippines of our nationals. We again call on the Filipinos to join us in prayer for the success of this national effort to bring all our nationals in Lebanon back home safe and sound," he said.

About 27,000 Filipino workers are in need to be evacuated.

DFA records disclosed that as of yesterday, a total of 2,173 overseas Filipino workers arrived in Manila since the repatriation began last July 23.

Two more batches of 450 OFWs will be flown to Manila and are scheduled to arrive on Aug. 4 and Aug. 6, respectively.