Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 2) — The Philippine ambassador to Israel will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and he is expected to request for the exit of Filipinos from Gaza, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Thursday.
“[Ambassador Pedro Laylo Jr.] is meeting today…with the Israeli president. So we will also inform the president of our relations and our hope that, in a way, they are obligated to give us priority, they owe us this. I hope they take it that way,” he told reporters.
“It’s just a call, a traditional call of an ambassador. But of course, dahil nangyari ‘to (Israel-Hamas war), we are going to mention the situation of the welfare of Filipinos in Gaza. Of course, Filipinos are being hailed for being heroic…may mga namatay tayo dahil ayaw iwanan yung mga amo,” he added.
[Translation: But of course, because this happened, we are going to mention the situation of the welfare of Filipinos in Gaza. Of course, Filipinos are being hailed for being heroic…some of them died because they did not want to leave their employers.]
The fourth batch of Filipinos repatriated from Israel arrived on Oct. 30. Two Filipino doctors, meanwhile, were among the first foreigners allowed to cross the Rafah border. They are currently in Egypt.
Another batch of 45 Filipinos from Israel will be coming home on Nov. 6, De Vega said.The foreign affairs official also said they have already given authorities the complete data of Filipinos who want to leave. It will be up to authorities to decide on who will be allowed to cross the border.Meanwhile, there is still no information on the Filipinos who are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.
