Philippine Embassy in Cairo sending team to help Filipinos in Gaza who want to go home
Amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, the Philippine Embassy in Cairo is sending a team to assist the Filipinos who want to be repatriated once the humanitarian corridors open the border of Gaza.
"Once the opening is declared, we must be ready and in fact, we are getting ready. Our embassy in Cairo is sending a team to the border. And we are providing them funding to be able to rent transportation to bring them from the border to Cairo and to fly them to the Philippines, those 92 Filipinos," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Eduardo De Vega said in a Palace briefing on Friday.
"According to our embassy in Amman which is in touch with them, the Filipinos in Gaza. If they are told, meet here, they will; or if they’re told, just show up at the border at this time, they will because it’s only, utmost, 30 minutes from Gaza City and other parts of Gaza to the Egypt border. So, we will be ready," he added.
De Vega said the Filipinos who have expressed their willingness to be repatriated from Gaza have risen to 92 from 70 reported last Wednesday.
''Recently, we announced the number of who would like to be repatriated are around 70 and that there are 137 Filipino citizens in Gaza. Our embassy in Amman updated these figures, there’s less Filipino citizens in Gaza, 131 actually. Some left already before, some time ago before this outbreak. So, it's 131 including three tourists," he said.
"Out of the 131 up to 92 now are asking for repatriation and that’s as of several hours ago by now, it might increase further. Let’s say 92, that’s over 70% and not one has been repatriated yet because of the fact that Gaza is under blockade but we are working on it," he added.
De Vega said the Philippine government is presently working with its diplomatic partners to see if a humanitarian corridor can be opened to allow people to exit through… obviously if not the border with Israel, through the Rafah border with Egypt."
"This is a diplomatic initiative, we’re in touch with the governments in the region. Of course, the United Nations will hold a session today, the United Nations screening counsel and we expect them to call for a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to leave," he said.
De Vega said there were 22 Filipinos in Israel who also expressed their willingness to be repatriated and the first batch composed of eight people will have their flight back on October 16.
"There are already some who have indicated that they want to go home ? not because they were victimized by the war specifically but because indirectly, they lost a job or times are hard for them… for economic reasons therefore. Obviously aggravated by this conflict," he said.
"There are eight of them leaving on October 16 paid for by the Department of Migrant Workers and OWWA. And as they promised, once they arrived, they’ll be given the proper assistance ‘no, the usual reintegration and other assistance packages provided by the DMW and OWWA," he added. Robina Asido/DMS
