THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued on Monday a travel advisory warning
Filipinos not to travel to Libya, Bahrain and Yemen where anti-government protest actions
have led to killings.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos, Jr. said mandatory
evacuation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Libya, Bahrain and Yemen is not yet
necessary but Filipinos were told to postpone non-essential and non-urgent travel to the three
countries.
Conejos said the Philippine government is ready to evacuate Filipinos if it becomes
necessary.
Filipinos who are planning to travel to these countries were urged to defer their plans until the
security situations have stabilized.
The Philippine embassies in Libya, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which also covers Yemen,
have been placed on heightened alert but diplomats assured the government that Filipinos in
those countries are safe.
The embassies have also established 24-hour crisis monitoring teams that will keep in close
contact with some 31,000 Filipinos in Bahrain, 1,400 Filipinos in Yemen and around 26,000 in
Libya. (PIA)