Despite the lowered crisis alert levels in Israel, the Philippine government is maintaining its repatriation efforts for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) while also beginning to allow their redeployment.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan confirmed in a “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” briefing that 21 OFWs are expected to arrive home Thursday. Another 15 workers are scheduled to return Saturday, with an additional 28 OFWs anticipated in the coming days.

Since the conflict began, 373 OFWs have requested repatriation assistance from OWWA, but only 26 have confirmed their decision to return this week.

“After we kept calling them through OWWA, it was even us who kept following up… only 26 have been repatriated or decided to return to the Philippines,” Caunan said.

There are currently around 30,000 OFWs in Israel and Caunan stressed that while restrictions are easing, the government continues to monitor regional tensions. She added that eight OFWs from Iran have also returned to the Philippines, with more expected soon.

Meantime, the Department of Foreign Affairs recently downgraded the crisis alert level for Filipinos in Israel from Alert Level 3 (voluntary repatriation) to Alert Level 2 (restriction phase), which permits essential travel and the redeployment of returning workers.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), on the other hand, has begun facilitating the redeployment of OFWs whose flights were previously canceled.

DMW Undersecretary for Foreign Employment and Welfare Felicitas Bay stated that the agency has started receiving deployment inquiries, with some OFWs already having flown back to Israel last 27 June. Six more are preparing to depart as early as 5 July or 7 July.

“Everything is moving forward now since the alert level has been lowered to Alert Level 2, and we have already received inquiries from those planning to return to their respective employers,” Bay said.