MANILA, Philippines — A large Philippine flag has been laid on the roof of the Philippine embassy in Libya to send the message that the country is “everyone’s friend” and protect Filipinos in the strife-torn nation.
“On the roof of the Philippine embassy in Tripoli (is) the flag of everyone’s friend and no one’s enemy in Libya. So no excuse for a misdirected drone or artillery strike. Please protect our people,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet yesterday.
But former Philippine ambassador Victoria Bataclan asked Locsin on Twitter: “Sir, don’t you think that as parens patriae the government should evacuate our people there?”
Locsin has thumbed down the mandatory evacuation of Filipinos.
“We can declare Alert Level 4 for mandatory evacuation but they won’t go if they don’t feel like it. After that we are supposed to evacuate our diplomatic mission but we will not while any Filipino is still in Tripoli making up his or her mind. It is what we are,” Locsin told Bataclan on Twitter.
The DFA raised last week alert level 3 or voluntary repatriation in Libya and urged Filipinos to consider getting themselves and their dependents repatriated to avoid getting caught in the middle of ongoing clashes between rival factions.
In raising the alert level from 2 (restriction phase) to 3, the DFA cited its obligation to ensure the safety and security of all Filipino nationals overseas.
The embassy recommended to raise the alert level following the escalation of clashes that included the shelling of residential areas in the outskirts of the capital.
“Tripoli is getting dire; US et. al. embassies pulled out; ours stays on Libyan soil while Filipinos brave it out as is their right & our responsibility. Pray. General Hafter will not relent and the National Gov’t will not surrender. A 6-month fight to the finish is expected,” Locsin tweeted. – With Mayen Jaymalin