DFA: 21 Phl officials trapped in Israel to return home by weekend

At least 21 Philippine government officials, including two alleged legislators, trapped in the ongoing war between Israel and Iran will be repatriated by the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday.

According to DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Jose De Vega, the group includes nine mayors, four vice mayors, two regional directors, four officials from the Department of Agriculture, and two party-list lawmakers.

“They are all guests of the Israeli government. They are flying home via Jordan. By the weekend, they should be home,” De Vega told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a message.

While De Vega declined to name the officials citing “privacy,” he disclosed that the local executives are all from the South, one of the DA officials is an assistant secretary, and the party-list representatives are from AASENSO Partylist.

However, verification by the DAILY TRIBUNE revealed that the said party-list is not listed as a member of either the 19th or the incoming 20th Congress.

House spokesperson Princess Abante also clarified that no sitting House members are currently in Israel.

“As far as I know, there are no members of the 19th Congress currently in Israel. Following the statement of the Secretary General, I think there were some who planned, but did not push through. But again, based on the information I received, there are no members of the 19th Congress in Israel at this time,” Abante said during a briefing on Wednesday.

House records show that Batangas Rep. Lianda Bolilia canceled her travel clearance request for an Israeli trip, originally scheduled from 9 to 20 June, due to “unforeseen conflict of schedule.” Similarly, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan Rep. Rida Robes also reportedly canceled her flight.

Nonetheless, the House said it will continue to coordinate with the DFA to verify whether any of its members are stranded in Israel amid the escalating conflict.

According to Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, the officials arrived in Israel in two batches. The first group was studying dairy farming techniques when Iran’s retaliatory strikes began. The second batch was conducting a study on food security.

The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv said the training began on 10 June and was set to end on 20 June. However, the exchange of missile attacks between Israel and Iran led to closed airspace, leaving the delegates stranded.

Ambassador Fluss said the Israeli government will shoulder the expenses of the stranded officials, including airfare back to the Philippines.

Israel and Iran are now on their fifth day of trading missile attacks. The conflict escalated after Israel launched an airstrike that killed Iranian generals and scientists. Iran has since retaliated with hypersonic missiles, while Israel claims its attacks aim to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons — an accusation Iran denies.