Philippine Embassy Repatriates 289 Filipinos from Lebanon

Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat with officials from MWO and OWWA with repatriates at the boarding gate.  (Beirut PE Photo).

BEIRUT 28 October 2024 — The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon repatriated 289 Filipino nationals on 25 October 2024 through a chartered flight. This number includes 246 Overseas Filipino Workers and their children (OFWs), 21 Filipino non-workers, and 22 minors with dual citizenship. 

On 24 October 2024, a day before their flight, Philippine Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat welcomed the repatriates to their pre-departure orientation seminar held at the Lancaster Hotel  Raouche. DFA Augmentation Team Leader Jeffrey Salik briefed the repatriates on the flow and processes that shall be followed on the day of their repatriation. The Migrant Workers  Office (MWO) and Overseas Workers Welfare Assistance (OWWA) discussed benefits and entitlements that repatriate workers may receive, which includes financial assistance packages, onward flights to their provinces upon touchdown in Manila, among other things.

After the pre-departure orientation, the Embassy was able to hand out KAPWA welfare assistance to 94 beneficiaries, who were among those being repatriated the following day.

The repatriates were transferred to the airport in buses on the day of their flight. An advance team of Embassy personnel met them at the airport’s entrance and accompanied them each step of the way to assist them during luggage check-in and through the security and immigration counters.  

The Embassy acknowledges the active support of the Philippine Embassies in Doha and  Ankara as well as the Lebanese government in ensuring the success of the repatriation.

The Embassy is committed to bringing home every Filipino in Lebanon who avails of its voluntary repatriation program that began in October 2023 due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.  END

Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat, DFA Augmentation team, MWO and OWWA at the pre-departure seminar held  at Lancaster Hotel Raouche a day before the flight (Beirut PE Photo).

Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat (center), Third Secretary and Vice Consul Mark Ponce (5th from the right), and other Embassy personnel together with members of the DFA Rapid Response Team led by Team Leader Jeffry  Salik (4th from the left) (Beirut PE Photo).

Embassy personnel assisted the 289 Overseas Filipinos as they arrived at the airport on the day of their flight. (Beirut PE Photo).

Repatriates gather at the departure area and line-up at the check-in counters (Beirut PE Photo).

Ambassador Raymond R. Balatbat and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Mark Ponce with some of the 289  repatriates at the boarding gate (Beirut PE Photo).

For more information, visit https://www.beirutpe.dfa.gov.ph,  https://www.facebook.com/PHinLebanon/.