TRIPOLI – In view of the deteriorating security situation, the Philippine Embassy raised its crisis alert level from Level 2 (Restriction Phase) to Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation Phase), effective Thursday, May 29. Under Level 3, Filipinos in Libya – of which there are an estimated 13,122—are encouraged to leave the country voluntarily as soon as possible. The Philippine government has promised to bear the repatriation cost. The decision came this week after Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario visited Tripoli and met with Philippine Embassy officials and the embassy's Rapid Response Team to carry out the government's contingency plan. When asked if there was anything specific that had prompted this decision, Filipino community leader John Puno said, “Well, many embassies are closing here and it's becoming more and more difficult for Filipinos to wire money back to the Philippines. We have daily quotas, and we've reached them already.” To date, diplomats have left several of the Arab State embassies, including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, the UAE, and Egypt. The US government asked Americans to leave Libya on 27 May, while British Ambassador Michael Aron assured British citizens via Twitter that UK travel advice had not changed. No official statements have been made regarding possible closures by other European or Asian embassies. Jordan's Foreign Ministry also told its citizens to leave Libya as soon as possible and not to travel to it because of the deteriorating security situation. A week ago, Jordan has warned its citizens to avoid going to areas of conflict in Libya. On Tuesday, the US State Department advised Americans told to leave Libya immediately, saying that Libyan security was “unpredictable and unstable”. – Libya Herald
