At least 34 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were held hostage by a group of armed men, whose affiliation could not be ascertained yet as to whether they are supporters of the Libyan leader or belonging to the mass protestors who had already occupied the eastern part of the country, reports said.
Reports reaching some of their relatives in the Philippines said they had been brought an undisclosed location where they were kept against their will. This developed as dozens of the OFWs had crossed into Egypt the other day, embassy sources said.
Government officials are exhausting all means to seek the immediate release of the 34 workers so that they can be repatriated back to the Philippines.
At the height of the turmoil, an estimated 13,000 OFWs are working in the different parts of Libya, most of them working in the oil fields and other industries there. Cellphone messages sent to their loved ones in the Philippines revealed that many of the OFWs are still inside Libya. Right now, they have no idea as to what will happen to them.
The OFWs have even asked the Philippine government to help them get out of Libya as soon as possible because most parts of the country are already in total mess. But the Department of Foreign Affairs said that it is doing its best to help them. The foreign affairs department said they need at least 100 million pesos to repatriate the thousands of OFWs in Libya.
It was reported that the border areas between Libya and Tunisia and that of Egypt are teeming with people who are willing to get out of Libya as soon as possible.