Should all OFW's in Lebanon be evacuated?

[franklin]

---

no

[herzabarJR]

Kay naay uban, they think its a blessing in disguise tungod naka ipsot cla sa ilang mga hayop nga amo. Pero naay uban nga bag-o palang tawn naka abot didto or mo padulong pa unta ug Lebanon, dili na nuon maka adto unya naka gasto na cla ug dako.... your views?

Yep, many OFWs interviewed said its a blessing in disguise kay mura silag iro na gitangkal sa ilang amo... One OFW interviewed by ABS-CBN even said that when she asked permission from a her lady lebanese employer to leave, the employer replied "You are just a Filipina, you are NOTHING... Its not that you are an American that somebody will pick you up..."

Its amazing how it has come to the point na ubos na jud tawn kaayo ang pagtan-aw sa mga foreigners sa mga pinoy... tsk tsk...

[herzabarJR]

dapat lang...e hindi lang pla yung giyera ang inabot nila dun e. pati pang aabuso sa kanila ng kanilang mga employer. Dapat lang talagang bumalik na sila dito.Balita ko nga meron daw International group Aids ang tumutulong sa mga kababayan natin dun para mailikas at makauwi na dito sa atin. ( http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...04_july27_2006)
May nakapag sbe din sken na maliit lang nmn daw ang sinasahod nila dun tpos aabusuhin pa sila. Umuwi nlang sila d2, maraming trabahong naghihintay s kanila d2.

Average salary for domestic helper in Lebanon is 11000 per month.... Imagine travelling all the way to Lebanon to earn a measly 11,000 plus the added benefit of being treated like a dog. Yeah they can have jobs here but the average salary of household help here is 1,500 per my experience... but you can get them cheap if daghan imo i-hire from the same family or clan... You can go to as low as 1000.

[wanderlust]

I think that the government should be spared more opposition grandstanding at this time when it is trying to get our kababayans out of Lebanon. We should be united in this time of crisis and help in whatever way we can.

[pridi]

well... mao lagi unta... we should be united... "kuno" ha, karon gani kay naay reklamo nga wala or kulang na ang funds para ma evacuate ang nabiling OFW's didto.... murag synonymous man ni sa st.bernard, leyte da, nga naay nag offer of tabang... pero gikurakot ra diay nuon..... pur bida ning gobernoha oist

[jugs_06]

that's how it is in our government.. kung asa na knahanglan kaayo ang tabang, wala nay pundo kay ghurot na og kawat sa mga maayong laki sa gobyerno..

[baron]

I think that the government should be spared more opposition grandstanding at this time when it is trying to get our kababayans out of Lebanon. We should be united in this time of crisis and help in whatever way we can.

Agree. Instead of helping our OFWs who were trapped in the middle of war, the opposition just keeps on putting up accusations on non-availability of funs when in fact the government is continuous in its efforts to evacuate our kababayans there. Every day, hundreds of our Filipino OFWs arrive here in the Philippines, as part of the government's plan to evacuate our workers there and at the same time, ensure a zero-casualty goal.

If only the opposition has something more important to do than say all of these baseless accusations, maybe they could help a little. Right now, they are just dividing public attention and destructing the smooth sailing implementation of the evacuation plan set by the government.

[wak_wak]

coz sala man pud na sa goverment why nag react in ana ang oppositions, the goverment been shouting naa na funds, nasuko pa sila sa ambasador sa Lebanon kay why daw ni sulti sya wala daw fund which is true man jud. sila ang goverment dapat di sila mu pagawas ug false information.

[crinkle]

Filipinos are evacuating from the Philippines.

if they're only fleeing Lebanon to return to the Philippines and join the hungry millions, ambot lang.

[grabehbebe]

heres the news: OWWA releases $6m for evacuation

THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has allocated $6 million (about P300 million) more to bring home Filipino workers trapped in war-torn Lebanon, an official said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the amount would add to the $4 million (P200 million) that the agency had released earlier for the same purpose.

He said about $2 million had already been spent to send home Filipinos caught in the fighting between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

Brion rejected reports that OWWA was hoarding funds meant for evacuating Filipinos in Lebanon even as government officials snubbed a Senate hearing on the workers’ repatriation and the money earmarked to send them home.

Officials did not have time to prepare for the hearing and would not be ready any time soon because they must focus on the repatriation, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a letter to Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who had asked for the hearing.

And while the Senate appeared keen to know more about the government’s campaign to bring Filipinos out of Lebanon, senators were divided on a proposal to send Filipino troops to that country to join a peacekeeping force.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. made the proposal on Friday and Malacañang endorsed it yesterday.
De Venecia’s proposal was noteworthy, “but we have to deal with first things first, and the government is focused at the moment on the safety and welfare of our nationals,” Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

“If we send our contingent there, we would be stressing out neutral position and they may be helpful in ensuring the safety of Filipino nationals,” Senator Richard Gordon said.

But Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Franklin Drilon were wary.

Biazon said all the Armed Forces’ resources were needed here to fight the insurgents.

“If the government is eyeing the defeat of [the insurgents] within two years, we cannot afford to deploy our troops and meager material resources to fight insurgencies in other parts of the world,” he said.

In yesterday’s press briefing, OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Esteban Conejos rejected Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara’s claim that the Philippine Embassy in Beirut had run out of money to bring home Filipino workers.

Roque said OWWA funds intended for evacuation purposes were being coursed through the agency’s welfare officers in Beirut and not through the Philippine Embassy.

“We are not mandated to give any funds to the embassy,” he said.

Conejos said Foreign Affairs sent $150,000 to the Philippine Embassy in Beirut on July 27 to boost its funds, which were now being handled by the embassy’s finance officer and estimated at $270,000.

Bichara, was the chief of mission in Lebanon, he said, adding President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo dispatched special envoy Roy Cimatu and Ambassador to Kuwait Ricarda Endaya to Lebanon merely to advise and help him.

“The operation in Beirut is primarily the responsibility of Ambassador Bichara,” he said.

As of yesterday, about 1,300 Filipinos had been repatriated to the Philippines and there was no confirmation of reports on Filipinos being killed in Lebanon’s battle zones. Fel V. Maragay, Rio N. Araja, Roy Pelovello, Vito Barcelo

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...s03_aug01_2006