There are some 30,000 Filipino workers in Lebanon.

In Manila, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has just returned from a two-day state visit to Libya, has ordered the evacuation of the Filipinos who wanted to leave but the order could not be implemented because of lack of planes and ships to undertake the evacuation. She also directed that no one would be left behind “because life is sacred.”

Later , she ordered the release of P150-M (about $3-M) to pay for the evacuation of the stranded Filipino workers in Lebanon. Thus far, only some 300 Filipinos have been able to escape through Syria. On July 23, she personally welcomed back some 290 evacuees who were able to escape from Lebanon.

Unable to provide transportation to the trapped workers in Lebanon, the President appealed to the combatants not to shoot at Filipinos. In a statement, she said “ We are keenly focused on our zero-casualty goal for Filipino workers in this conflict and we assure the families of the trapped overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon that we will exhaust all the available means to ensure their safety.  The Philippines makes a special appeal to all combatant forces to spare Filipino nationals who have no wish other than to be taken out of harm’s way. ”Our crisis managers on site shall devise clear markers and signs to identify Filipino nationals and in the name of humanity, I ask the combatants not to harm them."

Garcia said the state department “advised that, although (its) first priority is the evacuation of American nationals, the US government will try to help evacuate Filipinos as well, to the extent that it would be safe to do so, and within the limits of available resources."

Garcia told DFA the US state department needed information as to the numbers, locations and identities of the Filipinos designated for the repatriation to Cyprus, Turkey, Rhodes in Greece and Damascus and Tartus in Syria.

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs frantically sent notes verbales to various embassies pleading with them to let Filipino evacuees board their evacuation vessels. Among the countries with vessels making the trip to Lebanon are the US, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

The Philippines only finished drafting an evacuation plan  called Oplan Sagip OFW sa Lebanon on July 19, six days after Israel started the bombings in Lebanon. The plan could not be implemented immediately because of lack of resources.

Some 200 Filipino workers who took refuge in Catholic churches in Beirut have been put on buses to make the 90-kilometer trip to Syria but this was still iffy because the roads to Syria have been bombed by Israeli warplanes. From Damascus, they were supposed to be flown to Dubai and later Manila by chartered Kurdistan airlines.

Another 900 Filipinos have announced their intention to evacuate if a mandatory evacuation is declared.

Philippine embassies in London, Paris and Rome have made appealed to these governments to let the Filipinos  board their evacuation vessels out of Lebanon.

But up to now there has been no move to put all the evacuees in designated relocation centers because the Philippine embassy in Beirut, which is staffed by only 15 officers and staff, have not been able to contact those who desire to be repatriated.

DFA said not many OFWs actually wanted to leave because they believe the conflict is not widespread. Most of those to be evacuated are those who have lost their jobs or are waiting deportation. Besides, the DFA said the evacuation is voluntary on the part of the workers.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said that the majority of Filipino workers in Lebanon were employed by Christian foreigners and were living in Christian districts — areas not being targeted by the Israelis.

The labor department is providing a 24-hour hotline telephone service for families of OFWs in Lebanon seeking information.

The DFA said workers in Israel were not in immediate danger compared to those who are in Lebanon.