SEN. Manny Villar over the weekend urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to step up its rescue efforts for Filipinos trapped in Syria in light of growing international pressure for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.

“We cannot predict the reaction of President Assad to new sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies in Europe. While we continue to call for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict, we also must double our efforts to keep thousands of OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] out of harm’s way,” he said.

As of Sunday, only 190 Filipinos have signified their intention to be repatriated, according to Consul Marlon Guevarra. There are 17,000 Filipinos in Syria.

Guevarra said the alert has been raised to level 3, meaning voluntary repatriation. He said tickets are now being prepared for the 190 Filipinos and anytime they will be sent home to Manila together with the 58 ofws who had been staying at the embassy shelter.

Villar, meanwhile, said he asked the Foreign Affairs department to send more personnel to augment the rescue teams of the Philippine Embassy.

He urged consuls to conduct a joint briefing for families of OFWs in Syria and Libya to reduce the anxiety levels and provide information that these families can share with their relatives in the said country.

The senator noted that based on feedback coming from the OFW sector, it appears that the embassy is severely undermanned and some emergency calls are not being attended to.

“The DFA must communicate clearly and more frequently with families of OFWs in Syria and Libya since the Philippine Embassy in Damascus is under its jurisdiction. If the DFA is inaccessible and stingy with information, where else can our OFWs and their families run to?” Villar asked.

The senator said since most of the OFWs in Syria are undocumented household workers with passport being held by their employers, the success of the repatriation efforts of the Philippine government hinges on the effective negotiations of embassy officials with Syrian employers.

“Consider the challenge before us: 17,000 women workers at the household level requires just as many negotiations with their employers. The task isn’t easy and the DFA must be forthright in explaining this before the public,” he said.

He opined that the Philippine government should send veteran labor attaches and Foreign Affairs department staff with experience negotiating with stubborn employers.

“Our OFWs in Syria are crying out for help and they deserve to be assisted by the best, most experienced teams that the DFA can put together,” Villar added.