38 Filipinos in Israel want to come home
THIRTY-EIGHT Filipinos in Israel want to come home amid a worsening war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants that started at the weekend, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Tuesday.
The Philippines would not ban the deployment of Filipino workers to Israel just yet, DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac told a palace briefing.
“The situation we are in is that we have a government-to-government hiring arrangement with our Israeli counterparts so it’s a two-way street,” he said. “We have to be well-coordinated with our Israeli Labor and Immigration counterparts before we proceed even without a deployment ban.”
At the weekend, Hamas militants backed by a barrage of rockets stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and kidnapping others in an unprecedented surprise attack.
A stunned Israel launched air strikes in Gaza, with its prime minister vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price” on the Palestinian Islamist militants.
Among the 38 Filipinos who want to come home are 17 children aged two to 15 years from nine families, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Teresita C. Daza told reporters in a WhatsApp message.
Eleven of the spouses are Palestinians, she said.
Mr. Cacdac, citing a DMW survey, said 313 Filipinos said they were safe from the hostilities. The government was verifying a possible death of a Filipino worker in Israel, he added.
Filipino hotel workers would still be deployed to Israel in the absence of a deployment ban, he said.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told the same briefing Philippine embassies in Tel Aviv, Amman, Jordan and Cairo have recommended raising the alert level to 3, which would call for the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos.
He said there were more than 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, 95% of whom do not live near Gaza. Seven Filipinos were still missing, he added.
“The situation is different in Gaza where you have about 137 Filipinos, Mr. De Vega said. “They are not overseas Filipino workers (OFW) but they are married to Palestinians.”
“We’re not telling you not to go (to Israel), but we’re advising you to postpone (trips) until hostilities end.”
Meanwhile, Party-list Rep. Ron P. Salo filed a resolution that seeks to create a task force to help OFWs in Israel and Gaza.
“The crisis management and response task force [should] provide regular updates to the public to raise awareness of the government’s commitment and efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our OFWs in Israel and Gaza,” he said in House Resolution 1369.
The task force will monitor the whereabouts of Filipinos and their families in Israel and Gaza and work with neighboring countries for possible exit points.
It will also work with international groups like the International Organization for Migration, Red Crescent and Red Cross to help Filipinos in the area, as well as communicate directly with Filipino nationals for security and psychological support.
“Effective around-the-clock monitoring and tracking of Filipino nationals in the region is essential in ensuring immediate assistance and repatriation, when necessary,” Mr. Salo said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
