Libya’s labor ministry allows Pinoys to leave without exit visas

Filipinos in Libya need not wait for their exit visas to leave the country, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Friday as the government works double time to extricate the estimated 13,000 Filipinos out of the African nation currently in the midst of a bloody civil war.

In a statement, Baldoz said the Libyan Ministry of Labor has allowed Filipino workers there to leave even without exit visas from their employers.



"Labor Attaché to Tripoli Nasser Mustafa has reported to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Administrator Hans Cacdac that exit visa is no longer a problem for our OFWs," she said.

Baldoz added this means Filipino workers "who wish to avail of the mandatory repatriation need not beg with their employers to allow them to leave Libya."

The order was signed by Dr. Abdulrazzaq Jum'a Eltamtam, undersecretary of the Libyan Ministry of Labor and Retraining, allowing Filipinos in Libya to exit through the Republic of Tunisia, the nearest country to Libya.

The Philippines' top diplomat, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, flew to Tunisia on Thursday night to personally oversee the country's repatriation efforts.

Del Rosario’s deployment by President Benigno Aquino III highlights the worsening bloodshed on Libya.

Manila has enforced mandatory evacuation of all its workers after putting Libya under crisis alert level 4 last month. Level 4 is the highest security warning given by the Philippines to countries that pose security risks to Filipino travelers and migrant workers due to armed conflict or disaster.

Del Rosario has earlier said that a ship that can carry over 1,000 passengers is being readied to evacuate Filipinos from Libya.

In a report to the Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Attaché to Tripoli Nasser Mustafa said the security situation continues to deteriorate in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

"The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority has announced the closure of Libyan airspace over western Libya, beginning 28 July, and lasting until the end of the upcoming Eid holidays. However, two airports, namely, Labraq and Tobruk, remain open," he said.

Since the raising of the alert level in Libya last July 20, the government has been urging Filipinos to return home due to the worsening security situation there. At present, over 700 Filipinos have already been repatriated. 

source: GMA network