Manila: The Philippines is urgently working to get its nationals out of Libya amid the deteriorating security situation in the North African country following reports that a Filipino was killed by alleged kidnappers.

“Our Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is doing all it can to respond to the situation. They have already sent rapid response teams to the area and are coordinating with our other embassies in the Middle East and North Africa on this matter,” Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said.

The so-called rapid response teams are made up largely of DFA personnel whose task is to support embassy personnel who are preparing travel documents of overseas Filipinos.

Coloma said in the case of the Philippine Embassies in Libya, its normal staff of 25 to 30 personnel would have difficulty facilitating the repatriation of 13,000 Filipinos in that country, thus, additional manpower through the rapid response personnel is necessary.

The security situation in Libya has flared up anew in recent weeks as militants took hold of vital government installations and oil fields. Liberals and Islamist militias had been vying for control of the country since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

On Monday, DFA spokesperson, Consul Charles Jose announced during a press briefing that a Filipino construction worker was found dead in Benghazi.

The identity of the slain Philippine national was withheld but Jose told reporters that the Filipino was among three people detained by Libyan rebels at a militia checkpoint in the city several days ago.

The two others, a Libyan and a Pakistani, were released but the Filipino was held for ransom.

The Filipino was eventually killed.

Jose said due to the lingering tensions and uncertainty, the government had decided to order the evacuation of Filipinos in Libya and ordered Philippine nationals in the embattled North African country to observe highest state of alert, which is Level 4.

“Under Alert Level 4, the Philippine Government undertakes evacuation of about 13,000 Filipino nationals there as soon as possible while no Filipino national will be allowed to travel to Libya,” Jose said.

“Filipinos in Libya are enjoined to contact the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli for instructions regarding mass evacuation,” he added.

Coloma for his part, said the Philippines is mulling various options for the evacuation of Filipinos out of Libya, including chartering vessels to transport Filipino workers away from the area of conflict.

“The Philippine government had faced a similar situation before, when it hired a ship to ferry Filipino workers,” he said.

“The Philippine government is also working with other governments to evacuate OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Libya,” he said.

During the Arab Spring revolts from 2010, similar repatriation arrangements were undertaken by the Philippine government and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with various countries in North Africa and the Middle East for the safe transit of Filipinos.