In Beirut, Lebanon in 2020, I saw bullet-ridden buildings, gun-trotting men roaming the streets and I passed by malls that were padlocked.
At the time, there was an economic implosion because of the hard times, worsened by the pandemic. There was also an explosion that had just ripped through the capital. Distressed Filipinos in the Middle Eastern country, not surprisingly, were desperate to go back home to the Philippines, even though they weren't sure what awaited them in their home country. I was there to cover their repatriation flight back to Manila.
Fast forward to 2024 and the situation has worsened. Overseas Filipinos (OFWs) who chose to stay in Lebanon instead of joining the repatriation flights in 2020, and those who came after, now have no choice but to go home because of the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Israel's airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon continue.
According to the Department of Migrant Workers, a series of nine flights will be available until Oct. 28 as commercial airlines in Beirut have resumed operations.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said in an interview with TeleRadyo that 430 OFWs and 28 dependents have so far returned to Manila since October last year when hostilities flared between Israel and Gaza.
If the 151 OFWs return home as planned, the total number of repatriated Filipino workers will rise to around 600, he said.
The next problem
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 13, 2024 من The Philippine Star.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 13, 2024 من The Philippine Star.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
MQuest Artists Agency offers acting, dance, voice workshops
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SAM VERZOSA ON GIRLFRIEND RHIAN RAMOS: SHE'S MY LUCKY CHARM
SAM VERZOSA DESCRIBED girlfriend Rhian Ramos his \"lucky charm\" after receiving back-to-back awards this month.
The charmed life of Happy Ongpauco-Tiu
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FEELING RIZAL HOVER 'IN THE AIR' TONIGHT IN HEIDELBERG
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New Phl CPF finalized early next year – WB
The World Bank expects to finalize by early next year its new country partnership framework (CPF) that will outline programs to be supported in the Philippines for 2025 until 2028.
Focus on exports
Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) president Cecilio Pedro hopes that government officials would focus on increasing the country's self-sufficiency next year in the face of possible tariffs threats from the United States with the expected takeover of the government by president-elect Donald Trump.
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The bigger problems
\"In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints. It will only distract us from the work of governance which is to improve the lot of all Filipinos.\"
Phl MSMEs among target beneficiaries of ADB, Mastercard financing in Asia-Pacific
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Metro Retail revisiting network expansion plan
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