Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Gaza to take advantage of the opened Rafah border crossing.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, who is in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday urged the 20 remaining Filipinos in Gaza to heed the agency’s call and leave the war-stricken strip as soon as they can.
The DFA said that 14 more Filipinos have crossed the border.
“Napaka-sama na ng kondisyon ngayon sa Gaza kaya mabuti pa’y tugunin ninyo ang panawagan namin na mandatory evacuation at pagsamantalahan na habang bukas pa ‘yung border crossing kasi hindi natin matitiyak na bukas palagi iyan,” De Vega said, according to a report from GMA’s Unang Hirit.
(The current situation in Gaza is very dire, so it is better for you to respond to our call for mandatory evacuation and take advantage of it while the border crossing is still open because we cannot guarantee that it will always remain open.)
“We will see what we can do to help you,” he added.
De Vega also went to Cairo to communicate a message from DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo to the foreign ministry of Egypt.
As of November 13, the DFA said that there are 41 Filipinos set to return to the Philippines from Cairo.
Due to the ongoing conflict in Israel, DFA placed Gaza on Alert Level 4 which makes the evacuation mandatory for Filipinos. — Ian Laqui
*****
Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
