The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced that approximately 62 Filipinos, including two infants, currently in Israel, will be returning to the Philippines on Monday. This group of returning Filipinos constitutes the fourth batch of repatriates, escaping the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
During a weekly forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, DMW officer in charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac disclosed that this batch includes more hotel workers, with around 32 hotel workers and 28 caregivers coming back to their homeland, totaling 60 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and two infants.
Undersecretary Cacdac emphasized the continuation of the DMW’s repatriation efforts, carried out in partnership with the Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Cacdac also mentioned in a report by PNA that the ongoing monitoring of the “rescue zones” in Israel, where evacuated OFWs were brought. An augmentation team will be dispatched to Israel on Nov. 2 to bolster the current personnel on the ground.
As Cacdac noted, the southern part of the area closest to the Gaza border has been declared a ‘no-entry zone’ by the Israeli defense forces. Filipinos in that zone were evacuated to safer grounds, which is where the labor attaché and welfare officer focus their efforts.
Regarding the 124 OFWs seeking repatriation from Lebanon, Cacdac explained that the Philippine Embassy in Beirut is recommending “voluntary repatriation” due to the escalating border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, following the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Cacdac assured that the government is making every effort to expedite the return of these OFWs to the Philippines.
The government is also actively coordinating with the Israeli defense forces to locate the two missing Filipinos in Israel. They remain hopeful that the missing individuals will be found.
