THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said more than 3 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now facing security threats and mass displacement in the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and North African nations, but lack of funds and personnel continue to remain its biggest hurdles to address the worsening situation.
A senior diplomat, who requested anonymity, said the government needs to adopt a regional approach to such situations, but the handful of diplomats and staff and the 40-percent cut in the budget for Assistance to Nationals (ATN) limit their actions to attend to the needs of affected nationals. “There’s no money…our hands are tied.”
He said even ambassadors and officers providing assistance to Filipinos caught in the civil war in Libya, as well as those in Bahrain, Syria and other conflict areas, had to use their personal funds for their hotel and travel expenses. “What can we do when our ambassadors complain about this?”
The senior diplomat said the DFA had already in place a Middle East contingency plan in the event of war as early as August 2010. The ambassadors in the region submitted the proposal for the evacuation and repatriation of Filipinos from their respective posts, but the implementation was put on hold because there were no funds.
“If we had that Middle East contingency plan in place, we might have been in a better position to implement measures to ensure the safety of our nationals now facing threats in the escalating uprisings in the region,” he said.
Around 17,000 Filipinos have remained in Libya as North Atlantic Treaty Organization member-countries carried out the United Nations mandate to defend outgunned rebels against the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. There are also some 17,000 Filipinos in Syria, while at least 31,079 are in Bahrain.
Of this figure, 2,000 nurses are in Tripoli and 584 in Benghazi, who stayed on in the face of the rebellion. DFA sources said these nurses were offered by the Qaddafi government triple their salaries if they stay.
The Bangko Sentral estimated in 2004 that the average salary of a Filipino nurse overseas is at $4,642 monthly.
DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said Filipino nurses chose to stay in Libya to fulfill their professional obligation and attend to the needs of the sick and wounded. “The safest places for them are the hospitals where they work. Hospitals are considered protected areas under international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, the Philippines supports the UN Security Council decision to impose the a “no-fly zone” over Libyan airspace.
“This UN action is a humanitarian measure which is meant to safeguard the civilian population in Benghazi and other contested areas of said country. Recent developments will not adversely affect Filipinos, since the bulk of our nationals already exited Libya,” said Malaya in a text message on Sunday.
The DFA will present to Congress on Monday the proposal to adopt a regional contingency plan for some 3,033,515 Filipinos facing threats and mass displacement in key Arab and African countries.
The department’s budget has been reduced by 40 percent to P10.98 billion this year from P19 billion in 2010. The bulk of the impact of the budget reduction was on the ATN fund, which decreased to P109.3 million this year from P200 million last year.
