The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon repatriated a total of twelve (12) distressed Filipino nationals on 11 December 2023. This batch consists of nine (9) overseas Filipinos who are permanent residents in Lebanon, one (1) overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was staying at the Migrant Workers Office’s shelter, and one (1) recently released detainee. The plane ticket of the remaining OFW was shouldered by her employer.

The repatriates expressed their gratitude to the Embassy for facilitating their return to the Philippines during the Crisis Alert Level 3 in Lebanon. Most repatriates in this batch reside in Saida and Nabatiyeh, areas near the southern border of Lebanon and Israel, where the exchanges of airstrikes/artillery fire occur with regular frequency.

 Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat (sixth from the right) with the third batch of Overseas Filipinos who are permanent residents and dual citizens including their minor children.

The third batch of Overseas Filipinos and their families lining up to the check in area.

The Philippine government raised Alert Level 3 in Lebanon due to the heightened tensions in the southern border of Lebanon and started offering its voluntary repatriation program on 21 October 2023 for affected Filipino nationals. As of 12 December 2023, a total of 110 Filipino nationals have availed of the repatriation program and are safely back in the Philippines. The series of repatriations are being facilitated by the Philippine Embassy’s Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Section, the Migrant Workers Office, and OWWA.

The Embassy continues to monitor the situation across Lebanon and provides updated safety measures and advisories to Filipino nationals. The voluntary repatriation program remains open to Filipino nationals who wish to return to the Philippines, through this link: https://tinyurl.com/2023Repatriation.

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