DFA hopes Rafah border crossing to Egypt will open soon
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the Rafah border crossing to Egypt for Filipinos who evacuated from Gaza could open "any day now".
"The latest, from what the Israeli Ambassador told us is that the Egypt government is discussing the process of opening the border because they don't want the opening of borders to be use by Hamas who wants to escape going to Egypt or vice-versa, those who will pretend to give aid because they wants to come and bring in ammunition," he said during the "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon" on Tuesday.
"According to the Israeli, it could be any day now that it will be open so our citizens should be ready and Ambassador Fred Santos is coordinating with them, with our citizens in the Gaza site in the Southern Gaza near the border," he added.
De Vega said the Philippine government has submitted the names of the Filipinos who will be repatriated to immediate processing of their documents.
"When they arrive at the Egyptian side it doesn't mean they can already be repatriated because the Rafah Crossing doesn't have Egyptian authorities, or their immigration. After the Rafah Crossing, there is a corridor... not more than a few kilometers. Then when they arrive, there they will be processed by the immigration (officials) of Egypt," he said.
"We are worried about how long their visas will be processed on the Egyptian side… It will depend on the Egyptian government. We already submitted all their names to the Egyptian government because based on our experience on what happened in Sudan before, they took a long time to process,at the border of Egypt. Of course, they do their best, but they don't want Hamas to enter through the borders," he added.
As he assures the safety of the Filipinos in Southern Gaza, De Vega calls others who might still be in the northern part of Gaza to move near the border for their safety and immediate repatriation once the border is open.
"We do not have a guarantee at the Northern Gaza at City of Gaza that is why we are calling the Filipinos although the embassy said that there are no more Filipinos there, if there are Filipinos who are still there please leave and go to other parts of Gaza close to the border. Let's wait for the opening of the border," he added. Robina Asido/DMS
