MANILA, Philippines — The government is studying the possibility of resuming the evacuation of Filipino workers in Lebanon if civil unrest in the strife-torn Middle East country worsens, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.

At the same time, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently signed an executive order extending the duration of operations of the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee, which was created on December 2002, to June 30, 2007.

In a press briefing in Malacañang, Foreign Affairs undersecretary Esteban Conejos said that Roy Cimatu, Arroyo’s special envoy to the Middle East, would be going to Lebanon within the week to assess the current situation.

“What we are doing is to constantly monitor the political and security situation in the area,” Conejos said. “We are reassessing our contingency planning to address possible scenarios…In the event of civil disorder we would escalate the Alert Level to form which would mean the evacuation of our nationals.”

When fighting broke out July last year between Israeli troops and fighters of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the government evacuated some 11,000 of the 30,000 Filipino workers estimated to be working there.

Of the evacuated workers, 5,000 have since found work in other Middle East countries while the rest have been repatriated.

Although the evacuation was stopped after hostilities ceased, the government has maintained a ban on the deployment of workers to Lebanon ordered by Arroyo last August.

However, while the ceasefire has so far held, there has been a brewing political crisis in Lebanon marked by mounting protests by critics of the government there, including Hezbollah.

Aside from assessing the situation in Lebanon, Conejos said Cimatu will also account for all overseas Filipino workers, assign leaders in each district to serve as contact points, study possible exit routes and test these, and reassess and identify resources should an evacuation become necessary.

MANILA, Philippines–Filipino workers in Lebanon have been advised to stay indoors and keep off the streets amid the escalating violence between two Muslim factions in the country.

Joseph Assad, honorary consul of Lebanon to the Philippines, said on Sunday the 25,000 Filipino household helpers in Lebanon should follow their employers’ instructions like moving to safer grounds if need be, to stay out of harm’s way.

"Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will not be exposed to harm or accidental shootings between warring groups as long as they follow instructions from their employers," Assad said in a statement.

The Lebanese consul added that he has been continually monitoring the situation in his country and would immediately advise Philippine officials on any action necessary to protect Filipinos in Lebanon.

Hezbollah gunmen seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Sunni foes loyal to the US-backed government on Friday. Security officials said at least 11 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in three days of street battles and gunfights.

Assad said political factions in Beirut have since been trying to forge a dialogue between the Shiite and Sunni groups to prevent any additional violence.

Abdul Kader Al Jadid, president of the Filipino-Lebanese Friendship Association said he was hopeful the situation would subside "very soon."

Al Jadid quoted latest reports from Beirut announcing that the Lebanese Army has started taking over parts of West Beirut as Hezbollah fighters have begun returning to their territories in the south of the city.

"Filipino domestic helpers were very much in demand in Lebanon before the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict when the Philippine government forcibly evacuated 7,000 OFWs with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," Al Jadid said.

He added that 20,000 Filipino workers who refused to leave their jobs were left in Lebanon. Around 5,000 Filipino household workers have since returned to the Middle Eastern country despite a deployment ban declared by the Philippine government.

MANILA, Philippines — Almost 150 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including runaways and those jailed for minor offenses, will be repatriated from Lebanon after the Philippine reached an amnesty agreement of sorts with the Middle East country.

At a press conference, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said some 110 are runaways staying in various halfway homes in Lebanon, 21 are detained for various offenses, and another 15 detained by the Lebanese immigration bureau.

“We will charter one aircraft. This literally empties the jails and detention centers in Lebanon of distressed Filipinos,” he said.

Conejos said Lebanese immigration officers will accompany the OFWs to Manila.

Last year, at the height of the conflict between the Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israeli forces, some 6,000 OFWs, mostly household workers, were evacuated and repatriated.