Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday said he wants to prioritize the concerns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya who might not be able to go home to the Philippines this Christmas because of the escalation of violence there.
In several twitter posts, Locsin said he has been receiving complaints from an OFW about not being able to go home for Chrismas and ordered Foreign Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato to bring the concern聽on his desk as soon as possible.
鈥淓lmer, I want that issue raised by our workers in Libya brought to my desk ASAP,鈥� Locsin said in a tweet to Cato.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want smart talk that we here can possibly know better than OFWs abroad. That鈥檚 a laughable proposition,鈥� he added.
Last September, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised an Alert Level III in Libya due to rising violence in that country.
Locsin said OFWs in Libya were worried they won鈥檛 be able to go home for Christmas because of Level 3 alert.
鈥淭hat he tweeted me, sent docs & ff up w explanations means he is desperate. He has to book flights, file leaves & if he doesn鈥檛 get any clarity Xmas is gone & he has to wait another yr. He can go home another time but when else are u and ur kids off at the same time?鈥� the DFA chief noted.
鈥淪ince WE raised the alert level in Libya now workers worry they cannot go home for Christmas. We better not f**k them,鈥� Locsin said.
Under an Alert Level III, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) imposes an automatic deployment ban.
It also calls on all Filipinos in Libya to start preparations for evacuation and all those with valid employment contracts, who are on vacation in the Philippines, will not be allowed to return.聽聽 /kga