PHIL. Embassies to Italy and to Vatican and OWWA Rome, assisted our kababayans on their way home from Libya via Rome.
Three diffirent groups of our kababayans were brought to Fiumicino Rome and were assisted on their way home from Libya through the help of their employers, Embassies and OWWA offices.
According to Welfare Officer Lynn Vibar of Rome, Batch 1 arrived last Tuesday, March 1 and was composed of 40 OFWs (all male) from Bonatti Company, a contractor for gas plant, construction and maintenance services, who were brought to Catania by the Italian military boat (missile launcher) Francesco Mimbelli. They were assisted by Phil. Hon Consulate-Reggio Calabria and on their way home via Rome.
The three OFWs Frisco Jusayan, Gorge Dagahuya and Juancho Turco from the Serti Oil company boarded the same boat from Brega sea port (site of bombardment).
They stayed overnight in Rome and assisted by POLO OWWA Rome by arranging tickets to Manila and airport assistance to Fiumicino.
Batch 2 was composed of 52 (5 F, 47 M) OFWs from Odebrecht and CCC companies, coming from Malta. They worked as administrative staff and construction personnel at the Tripoli Intl. Airport and Triple Ring Road projects, many very recently deployed (1-2 months only) confirmed by Polo Owwa Rome.
A third batch of 31 OFWs (39M, 2 F) also passed by Rome. Phil. Embassy to Vatican came upon them unexpectedly and assisted them as well. ‘They might have been also from Odebrecht and CCC, because the Batch 2 coordinator informed us that they got separated because of difficulty in confirming their bookings, particularly in large groups, with the various airlines’, Labor Officer Vibar added.
POLO Owwa Rome arranged for airport assistance, accommodations and onward travel arrangements for those who needed it. 
While other assistance was c/o DOLE/OWWA-Manila, including financial assistance. OWWA already has Reinforcement Teams from DOLE-OWWA (Labor Attaches and Welfare Officers) in several key areas (Malta, Tunisia, Egypt, etc.) to beef up and facilitate evacuation efforts.
In Manila instead, OWWA is involved in the Libyan crisis operations beyond office hours and during weekends, 24/7 operations especially airport operations.
OWWA Manila gives services for OFWs affected by the Libyan unrest and those who had voluntarily gone home from Yemen and Bahrain.
In the Philippines, at the home front, OWWA assures airport assistance, free shuttle service (pag walang sundo sa airport), tulong pamasahe pauwi sa probinsiya, free food from airport, free accomodation and OWWA halfway house with meals (sa mga taga malayo na wala pang tiket pauwi sa probinsiya). Including P10,000 cash relief assistance- being released same day in cash in all OWWA offices nationwide plus free overseas call to Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, New Zealand for families and/or relatives.
In Libya, borders and other affected areas OWWA provides assistance to evacuees or workers who have left Libya by Welfare Officers assigned at nearby countries,
deployment of additional Welfare officers on special mission to Libya, Malta, Tunisia, Cairo, Crete Island, Yemen, Dubai, Bahrain to assist OFWs. Dole Owwa arranges their flights back to RP and help them at the borders and payment of chartered ship from Libya to Greece and chartered planes for flights and plane tickets to Manila.
