Manila: Two Filipina maids who worked for the nephew of ousted Libyan chief Muammar Gaddafi escaped with the help if Philippine embassy officials, Manila's foreign affairs spokesman said.
Diana Jill Rivera and Mary Ann Ducos did not bring their belongings when members of the Philippine Embassy in Libya waited for them in two cars outside the house of the nephew of Gaddafi, Raul Hernandez, foreign affairs spokesman said.
They were rushed to Tunisia where they were scheduled to take a commercial plane for the Philippines, said Hernandez, adding that their family members have been notified about their arrival.
The escape was arranged by the two maids who managed to get the mobile phone numbers of the Philippine Embassy staff, said Hernandez, adding the arrangement was made for several days.
Their travel papers were also prepared ahead of the time they escaped, said another source, adding that their family members in the Philippines had coordinated with diplomats in Manila, for the success of the assistance extended to them.
The place where it occurred was not revealed.
Meanwhile, two other Filipina maids who also worked for another Gaddafi family also told Philippine Embassy officials in Tripoli they have not opted for repatriation.
Earlier, Manila's foreign affairs office said that a total of four Filipina maids have asked for assistance to return to Manila since they were prevented by their employers from leaving restive Libya.
Diplomats said that some 1,600 overseas Filipino workers are still in Libya. Majority of them are nurses working in hospitals, tending to casualties of the political unrest there.
They belong to about nine million OFWs worldwide, who have been sending about $ 18 million to relatives in the Philippines annually.
