(UCAN): The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it received frantic calls from some 937 healthcare workers stationed in hospitals in Israel and the Gaza Strip. They appealed for arrangements to be made for repatriation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas that has so far killed more than 1,900 people.
The ministry also claimed several Filipino workers have been held hostage by the militant Hamas group launched deadly attacks out of the Gaza strip on cities and kibbutzim [collective settlements] in southern Israel.
“Our emails are full, phones have been ringing… our migrant workers were asking to leave Israel… their families, on the other hand, are asking for updates because they cannot contact their relatives due to the airstrikes,” foreign affairs spokesperson, Maria Teresita Daza, said in a press conference on October 8.
Philippine authorities “indefinitely” suspended all travel to Israel from the Philippines and vice versa, citing the “volatile security situation” in the country.
Families of migrant workers pleaded with the government to safeguard the workers, particularly those in hospitals and other medical facilities.
Our emails are full, phones have been ringing… our migrant workers were asking to leave Israel… their families, on the other hand, are asking for updates because they cannot contact their relatives due to the airstrikes
Israeli authorities have said Filipino medical professionals had chosen to remain in hospitals to tend to patients, according to reports.
“We had an audience with representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and we begged them to repatriate Filipino workers for safety concerns,” Antonia Palma, the mother of a Filipino nurse in Gaza, said.
Palma said she is concerned for the safety of her 38-year-old daughter, Anne, as reports claim non-combatants, including women and children, have been killed in the skirmishes.
“I can only hope my daughter is safe. I urge the government to pull [out] all Filipino workers,” she added.
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The Department of Migrant Workers claimed that at least two Filipinos had been hurt while at least seven were missing.
Referring to a Filipino injured by a bullet, the department’s secretary, Hans Leo Cacdac, said in an interview with ABS-CBN Channel, “He got shot in the arm, grazed by a bullet. But he’s not in a life-threatening situation. He’s in a hospital.”
We had an audience with representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and we begged them to repatriate Filipino workers for safety concerns
Antonia Palma
Cacdac also said that they had advised Filipino workers to move to a safer place because repatriation was “not yet” an option.
There are around 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, but most of them live outside the conflict area near the Gaza Strip. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, around 150 Filipinos are in Gaza, Philstar.com reported.
Political analysts say repatriation is a mass effort that could endanger Filipinos in the armed conflict.
“We should be careful because mass gatherings are not yet advisable. They are easier targets. Safety first, then mass transportation follows,” political analyst, Richard Heydarian, advised.
Bishop Narciso Abellana, chairperson of the Philippine Catholic bishops’ Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said they have appealed to churches in the conflict zone to be evacuation centres for Filipino workers.
“The parishioners are ready to welcome our workers,” Bishop Abellana said, adding that the commission will assist families of migrants to get in touch with their loved ones.
“We pray for restraint and goodwill to reign in everybody’s heart and mind,” Bishop Ruperto Santos, the commission’s vice chairperson, said, according to CBCP News.
“We turn to God for the change of heart, for conversion, that they renounce violence, and give peace a chance. Conflicts are resolved through dialogue. Violence only begets violence,” Bishop Santos said.
The Philippine bishops also called on Filipinos in the conflict zone to take the necessary precautions.
“We appeal to our OFWs to keep themselves safe, and follow our government’s instructions,” the bishop said.
