Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies Wednesday to prepare to evacuate Filipinos “by whatever means” from Lebanon.
Marcos held a virtual meeting with key Cabinet members while attending a summit of Southeast Asia leaders in Laos, underscoring the urgency as Israel intensified attacks against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
“We are now going to evacuate our people by whatever means — by air, or by sea,” Marcos said, adding that any ship to be used has to be positioned near Beirut so Filipinos could immediately leave.
About 11,000 Filipinos live and work in Lebanon, including many house helpers, but Philippine Foreign Affairs officials say many are hesitant to leave their jobs. Only about 171 Filipinos in Lebanon were ready for immediate repatriation, they said.
Meanwhile, Turkish navy ships docked at a port in Beirut on Wednesday as a part of a mission to bring humanitarian aid to Lebanon and evacuate Turkish citizens.
Two of the ships, which can accommodate up to 2,000 passengers, were carrying up to 300 tons of humanitarian aid consisting of food, tents and blankets, according to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Rear Adm. Nihat Baran, commander of the evacuation mission, said the trip was ordered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to ensure that our citizens living in Lebanon are transferred to Türkiye safely.”
Citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and Kazakhstan also applied for the evacuation, the ministry said.
The two ships are part of a larger six-vessel convoy that departed the southern port of Mersin early Wednesday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said additional evacuations would be organized if necessary.
