What’s happening in Libya? Please President Pnoy please save the OFW
Update March 2, 2011: 14,097 OFW’s trapped in Libya; 3,544 oothers out; another 1,546 on way home (via Manila Bulletin)
whats happening in libya please president pnoy please save the OFW
That is a plea from a tweet. The early evacuations of Filipinos are mostly led by their recruitment agencies and employers. Equally infuriating is the fact that the Aquino administration went on full repatriation mode in Libya only Friday, even if the chaos was already weeks in the making. “Some 440 overseas Filipino workers have safely made it home from strife-torn Libya, with 4,097 still awaiting evacuation from there, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Tuesday.”
Repatriation efforts are slow due to lack of funds. Senator Manny Villar explains the problem:
The government’s repatriation efforts are being hampered because the allocation for such incidents is not enough under the 2011 budget, he said. “Tayo’y medyo may kabagalan, sapagkat walang pera (We are kind of slow, because there is no money),” he said.
The Aquino administration slashed from P156 million to P78 million the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) 2011 budget allocation for helping its nationals. This is the allocation from which the department sources funds for repatriation, according to the senator.
Villar said he had earlier proposed that the budget for assistance to nationals be increased five-folds. The budget was realigned, but he didn’t know where the money was re-allotted by the Aquino administration, he added.
“’Di ko talaga maintindihan… Ang liit na nga binawasan pa… Kung ako kasi, kung mga ilang doble lang, gagawin ko ‘yan para sa mga OFW (I really don’t understand… It’s already small, still they slashed it. If it were me, doubling it by how many times more, I would do that for the OFWs),” he said.
Villar is making a plea to ” private groups to assist distressed OFWs, saying nothing can be done for now to increase the DFA’s budget.”
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About The Author
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado is a Content Strategist with over 16 years experience in blogging, content management, citizen advocacy and media literacy and over 26 years in web development. Otherwise known as @MomBlogger on social media, she believes in making a difference in the lives of her children by advocating social change for social good. She is a co-founder and a member of the editorial board of Blog Watch . She is a resource speaker on media literacy, social media , blogging, digital citizenship, good governance, transparency, parenting, women’s rights and wellness, and cyber safety. Her personal blogs such as aboutmyrecovery.com (parenting) , pinoyfoodblog.com (recipes), techiegadgets.com (gadgets) and benguetarabica.coffee keep her busy outside of Blog Watch. Disclosure: I am an advocate. I am NOT neutral. I will NOT give social media mileage to members of political clans, epal, a previous candidate for the same position and those I believe are a waste of taxpayers' money. I do not support or belong to any political party. I was part of accredited media covering the Office of the Vice President and Leni Robredo as she ran as a presidential aspirant in the 2022 National and local elections. On August 5, 2021, YouTube announced that I was selected as one of 50 Program participants of its Creator Program for Independent Journalists She was a Senior Consultant for ALL media engagements for the PCOO-led Committee on Media Affairs & Strategic Communications (CMASC) under the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Council from January 4 -July 5, 2017. Having been an ASEAN advocate since 2011, she has written extensively about the benefits of the ASEAN community and as a region of opportunities on Blog Watch and aboutmyrecovery.com. Organization affiliation includes Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation Updated June 6, 2022