120 more Filipinos in Israel asked for repatriation —DMW

Over a hundred more Filipinos in Israel have requested government assistance to return to the Philippines amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said Tuesday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Cacdac said that the DMW is currently processing the repatriation requests of 120 Filipinos. 

“When I say process, tinatawagan ng pangalawa at tatlong beses at sinisiguro na gusto nilang makauwi. Pangalawa, sinisiguro natin na…finished contract. So talagang scheduled na talaga umuwi, nadatnan lang ng mga pangyayari,” he said.

(When I say process, we are calling them twice or thrice to make sure that they really want to go home. Second, we are ensuring that they’ve finished their contract and that they’re really scheduled to go home.)

“‘Yung iba, sinisigurado natin na…maayos ang paghihiwalay with their employers at hindi may lamat o may samaan ng loob o abandonment ng trabaho,” he added.

(As for others, we make sure that their separation from their employers was okay and that there was no job abandonment.)

So far, 60 Filipinos previously living in Israel have already been repatriated back to the Philippines.

The first batch of repatriates, which included 15 caregivers, one hotel worker, and a one-month-old infant, arrived in the country on October 18. It was followed by the arrival of 14 more caregivers and four hotel employees from Israel on October 20.

The third batch of OFWs, composed of 25 caregivers and hotel workers, arrived in the Philippines on Monday afternoon.

The DMW chief also said that the fourth batch of OFWs is expected to leave Israel on Thursday.

Cacdac, meanwhile, said authorities are also conducting efforts to ensure that the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected will have a job to return to in Israel once the situation there normalizes.

The Philippines has placed Israel under Alert Level 2 which means restriction of non-essential movements, avoiding places of protest, and preparation for possible evacuation. 

In Gaza, meanwhile, Cacdac said that there were 137 Filipino nationals remaining.

The Philippines earlier raised Alert Level 4 in Gaza City, meaning evacuation for Filipinos there is mandatory.  —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News