PH to assist Filipinos returning from Lebanon

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government will give P150,000 in financial aid and other forms of assistance to Filipinos in Lebanon who decide to return to the country amid the intensifying battle between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.

Cacdac said the financial aid was ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who, «since day one» has convened the Department of Migrant Workers, the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Foreign Affairs, Overseas workers Welfare Administration, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, directing them «to come together and provide the utmost post-repatriation assistance or post-arrival assistance.»

«The President told us to make adjustments to the financial assistance rate. If it's P50,000 we increased it to P75,000 from DMW and P75,000 from OWWA so that's P150,000 financial assistance upon return,» Cacdac told reporters.

Apart from the cash aid, psychosocial therapy and livelihood assistance would also be given to the repatriated Filipinos – most of them overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Cacdac appealed to Filipinos in Lebanon to heed the government's call for them to take advantage of the repatriation program as «the situation may worsen» amid the escalating tension between the Shiite Muslim political party and militant group, and Israel Defense Forces.

«Yes, it's (a) voluntary repatriation mode. So, all of them are still in the process of discerning or deciding. But the call of the ambassador over the weekend really was to tell them, please decide to come home, because the situation may worsen,» he said.

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Cacdac said that they will help every repatriated Filipino, «documented or undocumented.»

To date, at least a thousand Filipinos have expressed their intention to return to the Philippines,

«Around 356 have gone home from Lebanon. Just last weekend, there were 15 that came home and about a thousand more have expressed interest to come home. Forty-five will come home soon, hopefully later this week,'' Cacdac said.

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The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon over the weekend urged Filipino expatriates to evacuate immediately while the