Provincial Administrator Arnel Francisco said on Friday Capitol is still verifying a report that at least five overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Negros Oriental are among the Filipinos being repatriated from war-torn Libya.{{more}}
The provincial government attempted but could not reach the Overseas Workers Welfare Association office in Cebu on Friday to verify the said report and get the names of the OFWs, Francisco added.
According to Francisco, Capitol has not received any official communication yet from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the OWWA or other government agencies informing them about the said OFWs from Negros Oriental, believed to have already arrived in Manila along with other Filipinos that were evacuated from Libya.
There are no names or other information available yet, and no relatives of the said OFWs have showed up at Capitol to seek help, Francisco added.
He said the office of the governor had only known of the purported repatriation of the Negros Oriental OFWs from a television news crew who interviewed him.
In the event that, indeed, the report is true, the provincial government of Negros Oriental is ready to provide assistance to the OFWs whom Francisco says would fall under the category of individuals in a crisis situation.
The Negros Oriental administrator also appealed to OFW families to come to Capitol and coordinate with the Office of the Governor in the event they had family members that are stranded in countries that are facing political turmoil. (PNA/JFP)