Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues its repatriation of Filipinos and their families in Israel and Lebanon amid the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas.
A grab taken from a UGC video posted on the Telegram channel “South First Responders” shows the aftermath of an attack on the Supernova music Festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023. (SOUTH FIRST RESPONDERS/AFP)
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega, who handles migrant workers affairs, said there was a ninth batch of almost 300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who flew back to the Philippines.
“Sa Israel ay patuloy ang repatriation effort natin – nagkaroon na tayo ng (We continue our repatriation effort in Israel – we had) ninth batch for up to 299 OFWs who flew in with 14 infants or children,” he said in a weekly news forum in Quezon City on Saturday, Nov. 25.
This latest batch of Filipinos who returned home brought the total number of repatriates in Israel to 313.
The official noted the arrival of the 10th batch of more repatriates in the “middle of or later this coming week.”
The Philippine government has activated its repatriation program for Filipinos in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon amid the Israel-Hamas war that so far killed thousands of Palestinians and also displaced thousands in the war-torn territory.
The decades-long conflict between the two sides escalated on Oct. 7 when Hamas ambushed Israel and took hostages. Israel’s retaliation and the ongoing armed conflict resulted to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the region.
Two Filipinos were reportedly taken hostage by Hamas, although one was already released under the truce brokered by Qatar.
In Lebanon, the DFA likewise gave an update about the separate repatriation effort for Filipinos as the Israel-Hamas war persists.
“Sa (In) Lebanon, we have 37 OFWs. We had arrivals last Wednesday and we’re processing around 200 in Lebanon,” De Vega said.
However, he explained the processing of departure of the repatriates may take longer than usual because some of them were undocumented.
“And I think I explained this before – it takes a little longer in Lebanon kasi we are discovering na mayroong mga undocumented kaya it takes a bit of time doon sa tinatawag nilang general services iyong parang immigration authority nila doon (because we are discovering the undocumented that’s why it takes a bit of time there in what they call general services which is their immigration authority),” he added.
De Vega assured that they are exhausting all means for those who seek voluntary repatriation in Lebanon.
— Raymund Antonio
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
