Leave Gaza, Philippine envoy tells Filipinos in war zone

Over a hundred Filipinos have already been evacuated with their families from Gaza, but 25 are still known to be remaining as the bombing and ground invasion of the Israeli military continue.

Howie Severino speaks with Ambassador Ezzedin Tago, the Philippine envoy to Egypt, who is handling Filipinos' evacuation from Gaza through the Egyptian border, the only exit allowed by Israel. But that window may be closing as the war spreads in Gaza.

Amb. Tago describes the danger facing Filipinos in Gaza, and the tension and uncertainty of his mission, especially as communications are spotty at best.

He explains that some Filipinos still in Gaza may be hoping for a ceasefire but that prospect is fading fast. In this interview, Amb. Tago makes a call to the remaining Filipinos to leave as soon as possible while embassy personnel in Egypt stand ready to assist them with their journey back to the Philippines.

He says some evacuees are third-generation Filipinos in Gaza who know no other home and will receive assistance in their difficult adjustment in the Philippines after their repatriation.

HOWIE: Magandang araw, podmates. Howie Severino muli na nagpapaalala na nakakatalino ang mahabang attention span. For the past months, the world's attention has been focused on the war in Israel and Gaza and its impact on civilians, including 136 Filipinos living there, 111 of whom have already been evacuated through Gaza's border with Egypt.

On the front lines handling this evacuation effort has been the Philippine Ambassador to Egypt, Ezzedin Tago, a career diplomat and Arabic speaker. Magandang araw sa inyo, Mr. Ambassador. Thank you for your service and thank you for helping evacuate Filipino citizens from the war zone of Gaza.

AMB. TAGO: Magandang araw, Howie. Salamat sa itong opportunidad para i-update mga Pilipino at 'yung mga pamilya ng nasa Gaza tungkol sa mga effort ng gobyerno at saka sa mga kondisyon ngayon sa Gaza at 'yung aming effort para mailabas ang mga Pilipino at pauwiin sila sa Pilipinas.

HOWIE: Sir, so you've actually already evacuated the majority of Filipinos from Gaza. You're talking about Filipino citizens. Most of these Filipino citizens in Gaza were what? Were they… Did they have Palestinian spouses? That's why they were there? Or are they OFWs? Tell us about these people.

AMB. TAGO: The number of the... or the breakdown of Filipinos in Gaza is actually as follows. There was initially one OFW that our embassy in Amman had known of, but then we later found out that there was an additional one who was there on a temporary visit. So dalawang OFW po.

The rest are actually mga first, second, and even third generation Filipinos, mostly women married to, at the beginning, mostly women married to Palestinians, and subsequently they've had children and grandchildren who have Philippine citizenship.

So other than the two OFWs, lahat po 'yan actually mga pamilya. Some of them worked there. Sa pag-uusap ko sa mga ibang nakatawid, 'yung iba na-meet nila 'yung mga asawa nila sa other country, Cyprus, GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council countries, whether Dubai, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, other countries around the world, and they ended up staying in Gaza.

HOWIE: Kung 111 na 'yung nakalabas, may 25 pang natitira ayon sa inyong bilang. So who are these 25? Are they choosing to stay there or is it just difficult to get them out?

AMB. TAGO: Our embassy in Amman is the one that actually has consular jurisdiction over them. And they're the ones who contact them almost daily. For the past… Since this conflict started, they tried to contact everyone on their lists.

And from the beginning, there was already a group of people who were either undecided po sila or sabi nila hindi sila aalis for various reasons. And they want to stay with their family, their spouse, who's Palestinian, or they just feel that du'n na talaga sila sa Gaza.

The number changed over the past few months from going up and down. Pero at the end of the day, wala sa kanilang nagko-contact sa aming embahada sa Amman para humingi ng tulong or magsabi na they are going to move towards the border.

HOWIE: So ang Philippine Embassy pala sa Amman, Jordan ‘yung may jurisdiction sa Gaza. That's why they're handling the consular requirements of Filipino citizens there. Kayo, nasa Cairo, you're the Philippine ambassador to Egypt. And then you're involved because these Filipinos are exiting Gaza through what is called the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

AMB. TAGO: That's correct.
 
HOWIE: So I guess there's a lot of communication between the embassies in Jordan with your embassy in Cairo. But my question is, what is the role of the Israel… of the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv when it comes to this matter?

AMB. TAGO: Actually, they have a major role as well. Based on a 2005 agreement between Palestine, Israel, and also involving Egypt, this has to do with the access and movement of people in and out of the territories, Gaza, and also the West Bank.

Based on this agreement, there has to be coordination on the entry and exit of both people and goods. There is a process of inspection and security clearance. And so in this actual conflict right now, all those who exit Gaza, the list has to be provided also to the Israeli side, which also looks and gives approval for it.

Right before November 1, there was no mechanism yet agreed upon between all parties on what to do during this conflict for the exit of dual citizens, people, and injured Palestinians. But what happened is that with the facilitation of Egypt and Qatar and the US, there was an agreement reached that for the exit of dual citizens, injured Palestinians, and third country nationals like Filipinos and so on. And now the information is that there are about 7,000 of these.

The process would be that names would be submitted to the Israel side and to the Egypt side. And there has to be mutual agreement on these lists of people leaving out of the Gaza Strip. These are pre-approved. These are the lists that are coming out every day of who can leave.

HOWIE: And speaking of which, the ones evacuated were just Filipino nationals. But as you mentioned, some of them have Palestinian spouses. So were the Palestinian spouses allowed to go with their Filipino spouses? Or were they left behind mostly?

AMB. TAGO: Yes. Actually, they were allowed. A total of 16 were in the approval list, and then others, so on. Others were also added. There are some that weren't on the list, but they were approved at the border.

I don't have the total list of the Palestinians that have been helped. We helped them at the border. Then they reached Cairo. And then, from Cairo, we arranged with the IOM for them to shoulder or to fund their tickets to the Philippines.

So there are at least a good 20-25 Palestinian spouses who were able to join these 109 that the Philippine government had shouldered to go home to the Philippines.

HOWIE: I understand that this has been a very delicate process. I mean, you're doing this during a war. So what were the more challenging issues encountered by the Philippine Embassy in Cairo during this effort to repatriate Filipino nationals and their Palestinian spouses from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing?

AMB. TAGO: Well, I will talk first perhaps about our role as a country that's receiving or an embassy that's receiving and talk about those challenges. But there are also usually general challenges that are related to any crisis in my experience. And I see it also here.

I think the first for us here, there is the distance and the logistical requirements to be able to reach the border. The border is about 400 kilometers and at least 20 or so checkpoints along the way. Every day we are required to submit a request to be able to go there or to at least renew on a daily basis our approvals.

So I just want to stress that it's not as easy as the Filipino national getting to the border and we are expected to be there all of a sudden. So it takes a lot of coordination for them, for us to know when people will be at the border. At kailangan din mag-submit sa mga authority dito ng mga request para makarating kami roon.

One, to be able to cross the Suez Canal. Usually there's a tunnel or ferry boat, but also who's going to be there. At sa daan naman, ilang checkpoints 'yun. Kaya 'yung unang araw ko noong pumunta ako, umalis ako rito sa Cairo ng alas singko, nakarating po ako roon ng alas tres ng hapon. So 10-hour trip for 350 kilometers is actually quite long.

So 'yan ang... Every time we do that, ganu'n ang biyahe. I think is pang logistical thing is people because we are a small embassy. We're not very big and to be able to send three or four or five people every day, that also limits our resources here in Cairo.

HOWIE: There's a lot of news about how the Israeli Defense Force has been shutting down communications, internet connections, telecommunications. So how have you been able to communicate with the Filipinos who want to leave?

AMB. TAGO: Actually, our embassy… That's a very good question, Howie, because the lists come out usually late in the evening and people are expected or are supposed to be at the border the following morning. And what happens, I think, is our Amman Embassy tries to contact them or receives their calls the night before or in the morning itself of when they're supposed to be there.

I understand that many of them are not too far away from the border. So once they get the go signal, our embassy in Amman calls them, tries to call them. When you're right, you're absolutely right. There is a possible connection for a phone connection or internet available there.

So they contact them and if they're able to proceed to the border, then we are there to receive them. But on days where there are no phone lines and no mobile working or internet, then it's really us waiting till the next day.

HOWIE: Well, I read that you have embassy personnel at the border or near the border, partly to help process travel documents of people who are fleeing Gaza. How are they able to prove that they are Filipino if they don't have travel documents?

AMB. TAGO: Well, actually some of them, a good majority have travel or valid passports or expired ones. So those are always a good basis to issue a travel document without requiring additional proof of identity.

'Yung iba naman, nagpapasalamat kami at our embassy in Amman had already processed kung sinong may kailangan ng travel documents, sinong may expired na dokumento. So bago pa makarating sila sa border, we looked at the documents and already issued the travel documents before getting there and just handed them over when they reached there.

We also, honestly, there's also one thing, we extended help to Palestinians without a valid document and just a Palestinian ID and issued them a travel document and placed there that they're Palestinian. Travel documents are not a proof of citizenship, they're just for the purpose of that travel. So they would need to, down the line, apply for a passport from their embassy.

HOWIE: So these Palestinians that you're referring to, you mean these are the Palestinian spouses of Filipinos, that's why you were also handling their exit?

AMB. TAGO: And part of the process also is that we facilitate. We not only issue documents and give them out at the border, but we also facilitate with the border authorities, the whole process. We have to submit their names and verify the identities of some who may be questioned by the border authorities.

Like you said, if it's just a travel document, the immigration authorities and the other authorities there. Because they're different... There's also I think intelligence and so on. Chine-check po nila, nandoon kami para i-verify kung sino 'yung mga nandoon.

Lahat naman ng first-generation Filipinos marunong mag-Filipino, mag-Tagalog. 'Yung iba matagal, regularly din umuuwi sa Pilipinas. 'Yung iba, few years pero it's easy to actually spot them and talk to them immediately once we get to the border.

HOWIE: Okay. So these evacuations have actually occurred just in the last two weeks, but this war has been going on since the first week of October. What were the most critical moments during this time? And could you provide an idea or description of how the Philippine Embassy in Cairo negotiated this and coordinated with our posts, our embassies in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, as well as with the DFA?

AMB. TAGO: The most difficult thing is really the uncertainty of everything. As you had said, this started in October 7. And for the first two weeks, there was no clarity on how, if, and when people will be able to go out, what the process was.

We could just look back and try to imagine our previous experiences with evacuation and see what requirements could be, and try to prepare accordingly. Here in Egypt, we also evacuated in April, and ongoing until now, our nationals were coming out of Sudan.

And so we tried to see what the process would be like. But of course, then it was just going to the border and waiting for our nationals and arranging their transportation from wherever to the Sudanese border.

But in this instance, I think the most stressful and challenging really is knowing for certain when, how, and when people would be allowed to exit. And after that, when there was a process that was announced, I think on October 30th or 31st, the next step would be when would be our turn, really.

So about every day, 500 to 600 Filipino are on… 500 to 600 foreign nationals are on a list of those who can leave. And for a first few days, really, it was just trying to see when we would be on, how many would be on that list, and our capacity to contact them immediately so that they can be at the border the following day.

HOWIE: Were there instances or points where you were personally worried and afraid that the Filipinos in Gaza might not be able to leave and would be there when the full-scale war started?

AMB. TAGO: Absolutely, yes. I mean, no one is immune from any, as the term they're using now is collateral damage. There are about 11,000 people who have been already killed in Gaza now.

And so there is no way really to inform them in advance where these strikes could be and so on. So they say that they're able to manage. Thankfully, we don't have any information of any Filipinos up to this time that are injured or… that have been injured or victim of any of these strikes. But yes, that's always a fear there.

HOWIE: So when the evacuations began, as you mentioned, there was some uncertainty and then there was an announcement that people would be allowed to exit through the Rafah Crossing. When the evacuation started, what was it like? Was it well-organized? Was it a bit chaotic?

AMB. TAGO: Well, our first group was on the 7th of November. So we did receive notice on the 6th and we proceeded there early morning and reached there in the afternoon. The land border of Rafah Crossing does receive people throughout the years and it is the only exit between Egypt and Gaza. For Gaza, there are, as I understand it, six exits. Most of them, the five are towards Israel. There's only one towards Egypt.

It did take… We reached there at 3 o'clock and to be absolutely honest, it was one of the shortest because we finished at 10 in the evening. Over the past week or so, the four batches, it has really depended on the numbers of the people and how many are processed easily and if there were questions on the identities of some.

My colleague had to stay 'til 5 in the morning for one of them. My vice consul was left there for one of the batches. So siguro from hapon na hanggang alas singko ng umaga.

HOWIE: How important is the Rafah Crossing at this point?

AMB. TAGO: It's very important. The Rafah Crossing is very important because of, one, the entry of humanitarian aid. As you may be aware, one of the first things that were important to Egypt and to other countries also is the entry of aid. At the beginning, there were only about 20 trucks, I think. There's an agreement now for them to reach up to a hundred. So, food, water, other, medicine is allowed so far, but not fuel.

Rafah border also is where injured Palestinians have been allowed to exit every day, anywhere from 20 to 50 exit and are given medical attention here in Egypt.

Right now, it's the only exit for those who are coming out from Gaza. It's not actually open every day. Sometimes, there are security issues and so they announced that it's closed for the day. Your people, anyone, Filipinos and other nationals could be at the other side that is controlled by the Palestinian side or Hamas. If there is a security issue, they may close.

Early on, there were at least three bombs that hit in the vicinity of the border. So, it's really the only entry and exit into Gaza at this point.

HOWIE: Have there been any reports of deaths of Filipinos or injured… or injuries…

AMB. TAGO: No, there have been no deaths of Filipinos in Gaza so far. That's the information that we've received from our embassy in Jordan. At the beginning, there was one slight injury, but then we understand she's absolutely okay. When they cross, the Egyptian Red Crescent is there and they give them immediately some food. They look at them. The Egyptian side has also set up a medical quarantine.

I've witnessed them giving shots to children, checking if they've taken shots and they give them on the spot. The Egyptian Red Crescent has been great both at the Egypt-Sudan border and also at the border with Rafah.

They're available there. The foreign ministry also informed us that there are at least three frontline hospitals that are close to Rafah that are open to anyone who may face or need immediate medical attention.

But thankfully, Howie, I can say that when we get there, we've always seen that they're okay. There are two cases, at least, that we've had to deal with later on when they've reached Cairo. One was nine months almost about to deliver and when she reached here in Cairo, we couldn't get her on a flight because she was already due.

There was another case of a Palestinian spouse that needed medical escort to be able to go to the Philippines. That was provided by IOM who provided also immediate medical assessment for everyone arriving in Cairo.

HOWIE: Sir, just for the information of our listeners, the IOM stands for International Organization for Migration, tama ba?

AMB. TAGO: Correct.

HOWIE: Sir, you mentioned Palestinian spouses. Most of the Palestinian spouses of Filipinos in Gaza were able to leave through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt after being granted security clearance. How difficult is that? Who actually gives the clearance, number one?

And number two, not all, I understand. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that not all the Palestinian spouses of Filipinos were given security clearance. Why weren't they given security clearance? What could have gone wrong?

AMB. TAGO: For clearances for Palestinians exiting and actually anyone exiting the Gaza Strip that is done or they are cleared by all sides, that being Israel, Palestine, and also Egypt.

HOWIE: How can we be sure that someone in Gaza is just posing as a spouse of a Filipino national and is actually, let's say theoretically or hypothetically, a member of Hamas and wants to escape whatever is going to happen in Gaza and ends up in the Philippines?

Because he was able to successfully pose as a spouse. I mean, ano 'yung safeguards natin, sir, to make sure that secure naman ang Pilipinas from that happening?

AMB. TAGO: Well, actually, we've sent the list to the DFA for any restricted national and restricted Palestinians require a clearance from NICA [National Intelligence Coordinating Agency] to be able to be granted visas. That's first.

Second, from what I've seen immediately, all the Palestinians coming, the spouses are actually, they have Filipino children, even grandchildren. And so it looks like they've had long relations, established relations with the spouses.

I think two or three even had blogs and a young couple there, one had been talking about hindi siya aalis daw kung hindi aalis, sasama 'yung asawa niya. 'Yung asawa niya marunong, nag-aral I think sa Pilipinas at marunong mag-Tagalog.

And on the question of why some would not get clearance, to be absolutely honest, I'm not privy to what the criteria of each country would be. But like you mentioned, some may have affiliations to certain groups, may have done something that are not appropriate, and therefore would get them on any list.

So those involved, whether Israel and Egypt, have their own also process, security clearing process. And because they required the names long ago, these names had gone through their own vetting process.

HOWIE: Okay. Sir, earlier you mentioned that there were two doctors who were evacuated through other means. They were doctors with the MSF, that's the Medicin Sans Frontier, right? It's a kind of a medical volunteer group that works in a lot of developing countries.

So these are Filipino citizens, but they were also connected with this international group. So what kind of work were they doing, these Filipino doctors in Gaza?

AMB. TAGO: They were able to leave Gaza on the first day, on November 1st, together with several other NGOs and UN personnel. And our embassy in Amman asked, because all those who were lumped together did not say they were Filipino, just said international, international.

So had we known, we had also gone to the border to help out. But our embassy in Amman contacted them and asked if they needed any assistance from us. And they said they're fine, they're okay. And MSF would take them to, I think, Brussels or Italy, where their headquarters and their other next assignments would be.

But they were probably doing a lot of volunteer work in hospitals there. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. There are like 2.7 million in what is 300 square kilometers.

And I understand now that, of course, there's a great need for health care, and they're probably out there in Gaza helping out.

HOWIE: And you mentioned that there are about 25 Filipino nationals left in Gaza. And I guess that's not including their Palestinian spouses and children born in Gaza. Is there any kind of service our government can extend to them?

AMB. TAGO: Actually, Howie, that's one thing that earlier when you asked about challenges that I didn't mention, I mentioned that in general, my experience is that there are always a group of Filipinos who hold out, who say that they don't want to leave, or that them living in a certain place is really all they have.

And they consider it really their last choice. If I can go off tangent a little bit. In Sudan, we still have 120 people there, although we've evacuated over 185. But up to now, we have another 15 who are asking to leave.

In Gaza, our embassy continued to… our embassy in Amman, Jordan continued to call them all the time, up until yesterday or the day before, to try to stress and try to convince, actually, that's the word that our embassy is using, is try to convince them to leave.

Because this is not a very short-term thing. This can go on for a while. And as we see, the places are running out of water, electricity, food, and any services.

And I'm not going to say that definitely the Philippine government cannot ensure or guarantee or even help ensure that they are in a safe space, because this is a theater of conflict. So there is no guarantee that we can tell anyone to please exclude this area, there are Filipinos there. So I continue to call on them to consider leaving and crossing while it's still possible.

It's not going to be any easier for the next two weeks or even for the next month. I think they should decide now. And we're ready. We are ready to be there and to go there and help out.

In fact, I think the Philippine government has granted financial assistance to each family, knowing that many of them will be uprooted in the Philippines. So there's an amount that we give once they cross and before they leave.

HOWIE: At this point, I just want to interject. The reason why you've been mentioning the situation in Sudan is because your jurisdiction covers Sudan as a non-resident Philippine ambassador. You're a resident in Egypt, but your responsibility covers Sudan. I just want to mention that to our listeners. They might be wondering. And Sudan has also been having various crises, and that's why people also have been wanting to leave.

But, Mr. Ambassador, you mentioned that the Philippine government provides some financial assistance. I guess that would help encourage Filipino citizens to evacuate because I'm sure some of them would wonder, "Saan naman ako pupunta?" Right? Their home is in Gaza, their families are there, they might even have jobs there.

But you mentioned also the IOM, the International Organization of Migration. For those remaining, they can count on possibly two sources of financial assistance, the Philippine government and the IOM. Tama ba 'yun? In other words, if they leave Gaza, they will be getting some kind of support for this transition.

AMB. TAGO: Well, the Philippine government, yes, we have granted support. We've given it to them before they leave. I also understand that upon their arrival, some of them have asked for, I guess, somewhere to stay because it's going to be difficult for them.

Some don't have family anymore, or they're going home as a big family. So we've referred the matter to DSWD also. Nakikita kong tumatanggap din sa kanila sa airport 'yung mga ibang ahensya na willing din tumulong. I'm not sure what exactly will be granted by them, but there are.

HOWIE: Yeah, interesting, 'no? Kasi sabi n'yo, you know, there are Filipino nationals in Gaza who have been there for a long time. Tumanda na roon. And sabi n'yo, earlier, among the evacuees are even third-generation Filipinos who were born and raised in Gaza and are still Filipino nationals.

I mean, some of our listeners may not understand the rules of citizenship here. Kasi if you're third generation, let's say Filipino born in Italy, are you still considered automatically a Filipino? I know that Filipinos born in the US have to apply for dual citizenship or Filipino citizenship.

But in Gaza, what are the rules for citizenship there? I mean, you can be third third-generation Filipino and still automatically have Filipino citizenship, or is this something that they had to apply for or their parents had to apply for for them?

AMB. TAGO: Actually, as long as the parents apply for Philippine passport or citizenship for their children, for example, 'yung isang Filipino nag-asawa ng Palestinian, then she had children. Basta in-apply-an niya ng mga passport, Philippine passport 'yung mga anak niya.

At the same time, when she did so, she still holds Philippine passport, then entitled naman 'yung mga bata. And ang nangyari is that sa Gaza, 'yung mga anak na ito lumaki na, naging 20-year old, may mga nag-asawa rin either Palestinian or ibang Filipino, tapos may mga bata rin.

Kaya marami sa mga umuuwi, 'yung mga repatriate, mga bata. I don't have the stats in front of me immediately, pero maraming minor and all of them are entitled to Philippine passport basta 'yung magulang nila were holding Philippine citizenship nu'ng nanganak 'yung mga bata.

HOWIE: Paki-clarify lang, Mr. Ambassador, kasi if you were born in Gaza, because of course, we know that Gaza is not a country and neither is Palestine. I mean, that's part of this big conflict. Some Palestinians want their own country, their own state. Pero sa ngayon, wala.

So if you were born, if you're a Filipino, you have Filipino parents, or you have one Filipino parent and you're born in Gaza, what citizen are you?

AMB. TAGO: You can be… You're entitled to Philippine citizenship. And there is a Palestinian passport as well. It's issued by the PNE. So some of them actually are dual. So 'yung mga ilan ng bata roon may Palestinian passport. Tapos sa akin naman, binigyan din naman namin ng Philippine passport, or kung wala, then Philippine travel document para hindi sila mag-apply ng visa kung minor lang bata. Then we issue that travel document because they're entitled to a Philippine citizenship.

HOWIE: Okay. Sir, this crisis is still far from over. I mean, you've evacuated the majority of Filipinos, but I'm sure you're still monitoring it. There are still over two dozen Filipinos there, and they have spouses, they have children. We don't know their situation now.

And you've been in Egypt since 2021, tama ba? And I'm sure you've been keeping track of the situation there. What is your outlook for this war? I mean, it befuddles even experts, but I'm wondering what your view is with your long service in the Middle East.

I know you've been a previous ambassador to other Middle East countries. What is your view of what is going on? And how do you think all this will end? What's the long game here? What do you think will happen?

AMB. TAGO: Well, in the past, I think we always get into this thing that this has happened before. So many times, almost every year, every two years, something happens between Israel and Gaza or West Bank. So we sort of get used to the idea that sandali lang ito.

But maybe because October 7 was of larger scale and intensity, then that's why this is not ending so quickly as the others. I think Egypt even helped mediate the last time. And after two weeks, the conflict was over.

And maybe this is why a lot of the some Filipinos are still hoping that there will be a ceasefire soon and they can stay there. Some even of those who came out asked, kung paano sila makakabalik at makabalik ng Gaza? But like you said, at this point, honestly, I don't know what the end game is because I think it's the Israeli side that we need to ask what they want from this.

The international community is all pushing for a ceasefire and for a return to talks, which I think also is an important way forward because this will not end very soon unless there is political discussions and negotiations for a more permanent solution of the whole question of Palestinians. And as you mentioned, the state that they're supposed to get.

HOWIE: Sir, were you able to speak with any of the Filipinos who have exited Gaza? I'm just wondering what their experience was. We haven't been able to get in touch with them yet. We're trying to get these personal stories. But have you had access to any of them? Have you encountered or met them?

AMB. TAGO: Actually, I went to the crossing, the first group, and I came back with them on the bus. And every time, or so we'd ask, during 'yung mga panahon na naghihintayan lang, either naghihintay kami para sa mga papel nila maproseso or nahinto kami sa isang checkpoint ng tatlong oras, nagkukuwentuhan kami.

I think 'yung iba highly educated din. Like I said, na-meet nila 'yung asawa nila sa labas. And then, 'yung point is that madalas silang sinasabi, "Oh pang-apat na namin ito, pang-anim." 'Yung ilan doon second or third or fourth time na-evacuate.

So after a while, nagiging desensitized na sila, eh. But then, as mentioned, they said that ito ‘yung pinaka-intense. At talagang ang sad is that, lahat sa kanila sinabi 'yung bahay nila, wala na. Wala na silang mababalikan.

And that's what's really, I think, more difficult this time than in earlier cases. Normally, we do meet all of them at the hotel once they arrive in Cairo. And I've also gone to the airport.

And it can be difficult to listen and to hear from them because we don't know what the future will hold for them. And I think that's what worries them more. If you look at them, I would say they're all in a state of still shock. They have not been able to process this information.

HOWIE: And most of these Filipinos are women, tama ba?

AMB. TAGO: Most, except for 'yung mga, siyempre, second generation, halo-halo na. Pero 'yung mga original na 100%, mga women talaga.

HOWIE: Most of them have been repatriated to the Philippines na. They're not staying in Egypt waiting for, sabi n'yo nga, some are still hoping for a ceasefire, makabalik. They're not waiting around in Egypt or another country there. They've all been flown back to the Philippines?

AMB. TAGO: Yes, actually. 102 out of the 109 that had been organized by the embassy have gone home. That's the case because we are required to repatriate them. Their transit visa is only 72 hours. So, they're granted entry and the guarantees that will help will make sure that they leave within 72 hours.

HOWIE: I'm sure that's also not that easy for many of them if they've been living in Gaza for years and even generations, sabi n'yo nga, kasi their home is Gaza. So, when they go home to the Philippines, especially if they have children and grandchildren, that's not really their home.

So, I'm sure it's no longer the DFA's responsibility, right? I mean, who takes over for their welfare? DSWD ba or kayo pa rin, DFA? I'm sure that's another kind of transition. And, so they end up… So, they land in Manila and then, do many of them actually have homes to go to? They still have provinces?

I'm sure they all have relatives, 'no? But, you know, I mean, these relatives could be distant. Maybe they've never even met some of these people, etcetera. I mean, what is their situation like in the Philippines? What have you heard?

AMB. TAGO: Well, some do or have planned and will be going to the province, 'yung mga ilan doon. 'Yung iba hanggang Manila lang talaga. They’re going… That's why humingi sila ng tulong sa gobyerno na maghanap ng medyo mas long-term na accommodation kasi 'yung hotel and so on can be expensive kahit binigyan namin ng kaunting tulong.

Yes. But you're right. I see that the Commission on Filipinos Overseas as well as the DSWD are involved and we write to them before the arrival of the Filipinos. And you're right, it's going to be difficult kasi 'yung mga ibang bata tinanong ko pa'no, tinanong ko 'yung nanay, "Paano sasakay ng jeep 'yung anak mo?" Or even pumunta sa labas.

Gaza may be very different from the Philippines which is overcrowded and chaotic and so on as well. Pero these are certainly issues that they will need help about, need for.

HOWIE: Yeah, yeah. And as you said, many of them said there they're homes are gone. So wala rin silang mababalikan. And who wants to go back to Gaza now, 'di ba? We don't know what's going to happen. This war appears far from over.

And we want to thank you for what you're doing for fellow Filipinos and especially recently in this crisis. So thank you for your service, Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedine Tago. Mabuhay kayo at inyong embassy staff, may you all stay safe. Maraming maraming salamat po.

AMB. TAGO: Salamat po. Salamat. Thank you.