DFA chief back in Manila after bringing 400 Filipinos out of Libya

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario arrived in Manila on Tuesday afternoon after a four-day visit to North Africa that helped bring to safety some 400 Filipinos from strife-torn Libya this week.

Del Rosario came aboard an Emirates Airlines flight that touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at past 4 p.m.

He was to address reporters at the dignitaries lounge at the NAIA Terminal 1.

The secretary arrived in Tunisia on Saturday morning to personally oversee the repatriation operations to evacuate Filipino nationals in Libya. He then proceeded by plane to Djerba, the city nearest to the Libyan border.

On Sunday morning, Del Rosario, Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr., an embassy officer and driver traveled overland to Libya.

After reaching the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli and visiting the embassy’s relocation site, he gathered the Filipinos awaiting repatriation and quickly organized a convoy of 40 vans and buses to bring some 400 OFWs to the Tunisian border and safety before nightfall. (report from DJ Yap, Philippine Daily Inquirer)