Updated: 2,000 Filipino workers in Libya, 126 infected and 6 died of Coronavirus

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 29 January 2021:

There are currently 2,000 Filipinos still working in Libya, down from 20,000 prior to 2011, despite the difficult situation the country is going through – the Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy to Libya Elmer Cato said on Wednesday (27 January).

Cato was speaking during his meeting with Abdelsalam Kajman, Presidency Council Deputy during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tripoli. The Filipino workers, operate in several sectors including health and oil.

Kajman confirmed the depth of relations between Libya and the Philippines, whose embassy did not leave Libya, despite all the circumstances the country has gone through.

The Chargé d’Affaires reviewed the conditions of workers in the health sector, who continued to work despite the difficult conditions that Libya has gone through in recent years, and despite the Corona pandemic, indicating that about 126 Filipino nurses were infected with corona, six of whom died.

He requested ”assistance in looking into the concerns of Filipino workers who continue to stand, suffer, and sacrifice with the Libyan people”.

The Chargé d’Affaires ”conveyed the concerns of Filipino workers, especially those who have served Libya for the past three decades, who would be impacted by the recent decision of the Central Bank to peg the dollar exchange rate at LD4.48.”

For his part, Kajman expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Filipino workers in Libya, and promised that his government and the Ministry of Health would look into the conditions of these workers, especially those who exceeded 30 years of work in Libya.

Updated on 30 January to incorporate the Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy to Libya Elmer Cato’s recollection of what he had said during the meeting.