OWWA: 311 Filipinos in Israel requesting to be repatriated

A total of 311 Filipinos in Israel have so far requested to be repatriated as tensions rise in the Middle East, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) reported Tuesday night.

OWWA Administrator Patricia Caunan said 50 more Filipinos from Israel are set to arrive in the Philippines this week.

"Initially, we are looking to fly them here on June 26 or 27, but we are still waiting for the final date because their schedule has been affected by the closure of airspaces in the Middle East, specifically in Qatar," Caunan told reporters.

"After this, there will also be an additional 20 OFWs from Israel to be repatriated, but we are still finding a flight schedule for them. So out of 311, 96 have either been repatriated or will be repatriated soon," she added.

The first batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)-repatriates consisting of 26 OFWs from Israel, three from Jordan, one from Palestine, and one from Qatar- was accompanied by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and Assistant Secretary Veneciao Legaspi from Amman, Jordan.

The group’s flight to Manila was initially grounded due to the closure of Qatari airspace amid external attacks, but departed early Tuesday morning the moment the flights resumed.

All the repatriates were provided with immediate P150,000 financial support from the DMW and OWWA, along with airport assistance, including temporary shelter or onward transportation to their respective provinces.

According to government data, there are 29,473 Filipinos in Israel.

Israel's war with Iran entered its second week with the Israeli military chief warning of a "prolonged campaign" and Tehran ruling out further nuclear talks with the United States until Israel halts its attacks.