DFA: Repatriation requests from Israel, Iran remain low

The number of Filipinos requesting government assistance for repatriation from Israel and Iran remains quite low despite the worsening situation in the Middle East, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday.

In a radio interview, DFA Undersecretary Bob Ferrer said at least 121 Filipinos in Israel have expressed a desire to return to the Philippines, while only nine have done so in Iran so far.

The Philippine government raised the alert level to 3 in Israel and Iran on Friday amid missile exchanges between the two countries. Alert Level 3 means the government may carry out voluntary repatriations of Filipinos in both countries.

Ferrer explained that many Filipinos feel “at home” in their host countries, and financial considerations play a significant role in their decision to stay.

“In Iran, they are married to Iranian men – many of them. Many of them have established roots in Iran. So, there’s no longer a need for our countrymen abroad to rush home,” he said.

“Of course, they want to earn. In Israel, for example, the minimum salary there is $1,600 a month. They don’t want to give up,” he added.

According to the DFA, Israel is a second home to at least 30,742 Filipinos, while there are 1,180 Filipinos in Iran.

Repatriates

Ferrer said the Philippine government, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Israel, is processing the repatriation of 26 Filipinos, all of whom are overseas Filipino workers.

According to him, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is handling the repatriation, and the return of these individuals has already been scheduled.

Due to ongoing hostilities, Israel’s airports and seaports remain closed, leaving those seeking repatriation with no choice but to travel by land to Jordan.

“The land border with Jordan is open. They can cross, but they must do it through the embassy,” he said, adding that Filipino nationals must also secure flight tickets to Manila.

Meanwhile, Filipinos seeking repatriation from Iran will need to undertake a 13-hour land journey to Turkmenistan before they can return to the Philippines.

Last to leave

Despite the deteriorating situation, Ferrer said that Philippine embassy personnel in both Israel and Iran will continue their mission.

“The DFA Foreign Service Mission is the last to leave. We must prioritize our fellow Filipinos first,” he said.

President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran "must now agree to end this war," following days of speculation over whether the United States would join its ally Israel's bombing campaign.

Trump said the US military carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.

"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, referring to Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.

"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site," Fordo, he said, adding the planes were safely out of Iranian airspace and on the way home.

Iranian media said the Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites were hit.

Ahead of the US strikes, The New York Times and specialist plane tracking sites said American B-2 stealth bombers had left a base in the United States and flown across the Pacific.

The B-2 can carry America's heaviest payloads, including the bunker-busting GBU-57 — the only weapon capable of destroying Iran's deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo.

Trump said that, after the strikes, Iran "must now agree to end this war," insisting that under no circumstances should Iran possess a nuclear weapon.

Israel raised its alert level after the strikes, permitting only essential activities until further notice, the military announced. — with reports from Agence France-Presse