DMW: OFWs on 'safer grounds' in Israel, inside shelters in Lebanon

Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac on Monday said almost 2,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Northern Israel have been moved to safer grounds, while over 150 Filipinos have been evacuated to three different shelters in Lebanon.

Cacdac said the DMW is in touch with the OFWs and they will continue to monitor the situation.

“I will not disclose locations for security reasons, but they are on safer ground for sure… Siyempre, pinagdadasal natin ang kapayapaan, (Of course, we are praying for peace),” he said in an event marking the first anniversary of Hamas' attacks on Israel.

The three different shelters in Lebanon are being run by the DMW, the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA), the Philippine Embassy in Israel, and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“Sa buwan ng Oktubre (for the month of October,) we have commercial flights lined up for those who wish to come home from Lebanon,” Cacdac shared.

Meanwhile, OWWA Administrator Arnel Ignacio said repatriation efforts in several places are being conducted “almost daily” to bring OFWs home.

“Part of taking care of our OFWs ay sabayan niyang kanilang decision na maaaring magbago bukas, [at] magbago ulit. But kahit ano pagbabago yan, our guarantee is we will be there at susuportahan [at] tutulungan sila,” he said.

(Part of taking care of our OFWs is to follow through with their decisions even if they change regularly. But no matter what kind of changes occur, our guarantee is we will be there to support and help them.)

Ignacio said OWWA will always have the means to assist OFWs in need.

“It's not as if this is happening because of the crisis. Laging meron[g tulong na] available for our OFWs kung kailangan nilang umuwi… (We always have resources available for our OFWs if they need to go home). We have this emergency repatriation fund, which addresses this need for the OFWs,” the OWWA administrator said.

Filipinos in Israel have been advised to avoid several areas in the Middle East, including parts of Israel and Lebanon, due to increasing tensions in the area.

The advice came after Israel dropped bombs on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hezbollah rockets that landed in Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city located in Northern Israel, on Sunday.

According to Israel, their objective was the safe return of Israeli residents to their home in Northern Israel. 

Interviewed during the event in Manila on Monday, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ian Fluss said Israel "did not initiate" the war.

“If you call for peace, to end terrorism, to recognize the right of state of Israel to exist, this is what we want. Israel does not want this war. We did not initiate it,” he said.

This came after the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to extend Resolution 1701, which sought to ensure only Lebanese forces remain in Southern Lebanon.

“We saw this resolution just two weeks ago, four weeks ago, which totally ignores the reality on the ground because it's totally political, pro-Palestinian, ignoring the reality,” Fluss said. 

“A resolution which is not even mentioning October 7th attack and the casualties and the continuation of the terror attacks, ignoring the fact that we still have 101 hostages in Gaza,” he added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News