Some Filipinos still want to leave Israel despite alert downgrade
Metro Manila, Philippines - At least two batches of Filipinos from Israel are still scheduled to come home this week even as the conflict with Iran has paused and the alert level downgraded, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Wednesday, July 2.
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said 21 Filipinos will arrive on Thursday, and 25 more on Saturday.
She said a number of initial requests for government help to return to the country have backed out given the ceasefire.
“‘Yong mga kababayan natin iniisip nila ang kanilang mga pamilya, pati ‘yong mga inaalagaan nila for our caregivers. Meron pa pong umaatras,” she said in an interview on state broadcaster PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.
[Translation: Filipinos are thinking about their families. For our caregivers, they also think about their patients. There are individuals who are backing out.]
As of Monday, June 30, the Philippine embassy in Israel said 373 sought repatriation, but only a fifth, or 75, confirmed to proceed.
The initial 26 repatriates arrived on June 24. Eight Filipinos from Iran also went home.
Caunan said some Filipinos from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle East nations have contacted OWWA to inquire about the repatriation program.
She said the repatriation program continues.
The Department of Foreign Affairs downgraded the warning in Israel from Alert Level 3, or voluntary repatriation, to Alert Level 2, or restriction phase.
On June 13, Israel attacked Iran’s military and nuclear facilities, triggering a 12-day conflict.