ILOILO – Due to threats of an impending conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group, the Iloilo provincial government’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) activated 24/7 emergency hotlines to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Iloilo Province currently employed there.
These emergency contact numbers — PESO: 0961-680-4428, 0917-754-3833, 0916-758-3156, 0910-005-4682; PDRRMO: 0960-834-8147 — are available for OFWs or their relatives seeking updates on the situation.
Messages can also be sent through the PESO-Province of Iloilo Facebook Page.
This service is part of the Task Force “Bulig Ilonggo” established under Executive Order 004 series of 2020, aimed at supporting OFWs and their families in areas prone to war crises.
Cynthia Parcon-Dario, supervising labor and employment officer at PESO, said the hotlines could be used for repatriation requests and tracing affected individuals.
Approximately 1,000 documented Filipinos from Iloilo are in Lebanon, along with additional undocumented migrants.
Efforts to mobilize municipal and barangay networks to identify and trace OFWs are underway, with Gov. Arthur Defensor, Jr. mandating direct coordination to expedite the identification process.
Lebanon is currently at Alert Level 3, allowing voluntary repatriation.
Amid heightened hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the Philippine government reassures its readiness to assist affected OFWs. Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac announced that returning OFWs would benefit from a post-repatriation program including P150,000 in financial aid from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Additional support includes free training and skills enhancement programs, livelihood assistance from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Tourism (DOT).
“We’re ready. We stand ready to help them upon their return,” Cacdac said during a press briefing at the Palace on August 19.
Recently, the Philippine Embassy in Beirut urged all Filipinos there to evacuate as the conflict with Israeli forces intensifies, noting that approximately 11,000 Filipinos, mostly in Beirut, are affected./PN
