DFA DECLARES ALERT LEVEL 4 IN SOUTHERN LEBANON, OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY REMAIN AT LEVEL 3 

22 July 2006-Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban B. Conejos Jr. announced this morning that the Crisis Management Committee has raised to Alert Level 4 only in Southern Lebanon the status of the contingency plan in that country.

Undersecretary Conejos added that the rest of Lebanon remains at Alert level 3. 

The Undersecretary stressed that the monitoring by the Philippine Embassy in Beirut of an impending ground offensive by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in Southern Lebanon prompted the raising of Alert Level 4 in that part of the country.

"I have issued instructions at 7:00 this morning Manila time to the Philippine Embassy in Beirut to raise Alert level 4 in Southern Beirut and undertake the immediate evacuation of Filipinos in that area for relocation to the Embassy or the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal church, Sassine," Usec. Conejos said. 

Records of the Department and the Embassy show that there are about 2,000 Filipinos in Southern Lebanon particularly in Sidon. Usec. Conejos said that Ambassador Cimatu, head of the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Team is now organizing the evacuation of the Filipinos from Southern Lebanon to the Embassy and the relocation site. The Undersecretary added that the Embassy is now preparing the repatriation to the Philippines of the next batch of OFWs. 

Earlier the Embassy informed the Department that the IDF started to warn the residents of Southern Lebanon to immediately flee the area as it prepares for a likely ground offensive. 

In the meantime, Usec. Conejos said that officers and staff of the Embassy in Beirut have been augmented by a number of personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia to assist in the implementation of Oplan-Sagip OFW in Lebanon.

/jay

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