THE third batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) being repatriated rom Israel arrived in Manila on Monday, bringing the total number of returning OFWs to 59.
Meanwhile, another group of 59 OFWs asked to be taken out of Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and the Islamist Hezbollah, according to Philippine Ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat.
In a related development, Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to join the call to allow more humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn Gaza region in Israel.
The latest batch of OFWs to be home safe composed of 22 females and three males, mostly caregivers and hotel workers. They enplaned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 3 on board Etihad flight EY424.The repatriates will receive immediate assistance from various government agencies, including P100,000 from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), P20,000 in livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), plus skills training vouchers from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and psychosocial evaluation and assessment services from the Department of Health (FOH) and the DSWD.
Eighteen OFWs returned to Manila over the weekend while the first batch, also composed of 16 caregivers and hotel workers, arrived last Wednesday.
Most of the repatriates chose to return home due to the trauma they experienced during the conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
DMW officials expressed hopes that the Philippine government will soon evacuate Filipinos in the Gaza Strip after Israel agrees to open the border to enable the entry of food and medicine.
Filipinos who opted to flee the conflict by going to Egypt could not be repatriated immediately as they need to be processed first in Cairo.
A Filipina in Gaza was reportedly slight injured during the Israeli airstrikes against the Hamas.
Balatbat said he expected the number of repatriates from the 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon to “grow a lot larger” following the Israel-Hezbollah clashes “I know there’s a lot more,” the ambassador said.
The DFA placed the Middle East country under Alert Level 3, or voluntary repatriation, last weekend amid the
ongoing tension in the region.
“Due to the heightened tension in the southern border of Lebanon, the
Philippine Embassy calls for the voluntary repatriation of Filipino
nationals,” the Philippine Embassy in Beirut said in an advisory.
Balatbat noted that the Filipinos who want to return home were mostly from
Beirut and Mt. Lebanon area. Mt. Lebanon is near the capital where
most Filipinos live.
The Filipino envoy said three of the 59 repatriates were from southern
Lebanon where most of the clashes between the Israeli forces and
Lebanon-based militants are happening. There were a total of 122
Filipinos in the area, he said.
“We heard that a number of Lebanese families living near the southern
border with Israel have already left the area and have come here to
Beirut, so there is a lot of uncertainty and that’s causing really
this panic among people here,” Balatbat said.
Other embassies have also asked their citizens to leave since airlines
are already cutting down their flights to Beirut.
The envoy said water and food supply in Lebanon were still enough in
the meantime, but it could not last long if the conflict persisted.
The DMW pledged to assist Filipinos in Lebanon who want to return to the
Philippines amid continuing conflict.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said a task force has been set up as
ordered by the agency’s officer in charge, Hans Leo Cacdac.
The government is ready to render assistance and repatriate Filipinos
in Lebanon who wish to come home to the Philippines, he said.
Olalia added that evacuation routes were already identified and that
Filipinos in Lebanon were briefed about the repatriation process.
Israel’s military on Sunday warned that Hezbollah’s escalating attacks
on Israel risk “dragging Lebanon into a war,” after fresh cross-border
fire exchanges raised fears of a wider conflict.
So far this weekend, the cross-border attacks have killed six
Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic
Jihad in Lebanon.
Three Israeli troops were also wounded, one seriously, in Hezbollah
anti-tank fire. Two Thai farm workers were hurt.
“I strongly urge the DFA to also support efforts that call for more
humanitarian corridors. As part of the community of nations, we have a
shared responsibility, a commitment to international humanitarian law
to protect civilians at all times,” Hontiveros said.
While there is a current humanitarian corridor, she said a zone that
allows the safe transit of humanitarian aid — in the Rafah crossing,
the Philippine government, through the DFA, should help ensure that
this corridor remains open for the safe passage of humanitarian aid
and fleeing civilians.
She said the 20 aid trucks that have been allowed entry are not
sufficient to help the civilians currently trapped in Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza is beyond horrific. As a mother, I cannot even
begin to explain the pain of seeing the images of innocent children
affected in this conflict. May we tap into our common humanity and do
all that is necessary to guarantee all peoples’ most basic right to
life,” Hontiveros said.
She related there are many Filipinos who have made a life in Palestine.
“Let us help our countrymen and the place which became their home,” she added.
She emphasized that no human being deserves to suffer through this violence.