Phl urges Gulf ceasefire as OFWs face exit woes

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appealed Tuesday for a ceasefire in the widening Middle East conflict as more than 1,400 Filipinos have sought repatriation amid the closed airspace and the active combat zones complicating evacuation efforts.

“Let me do it now, and if it [plea] will help, let’s hope that there’s a ceasefire,” said the President in a Palace briefing. “The Philippines asks all parties to show restraint to bring this to a close as quickly as possible.”

More than two million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East, many in countries affected by the escalating strikes between the United States, Israel and Iran.

The conflict erupted after US and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets last Saturday, triggering retaliatory missile and drone attacks across Israel and the Gulf states.

Among those caught in the crossfire is Filipina caregiver Charlot David, 44, who has lived in Israel since 2008.

When an ear-splitting alert woke David before dawn, she ran to a bomb shelter three minutes from her flat in Rehovot, 20 kilometers south of Tel Aviv.

“Our flat is three minutes away from the bomb shelter, so we really had to run fast,” she said in a video interview.

Filipinos killed

“There were several alerts until we concluded, OK, this is no joke. It’s Iran. So we decided to stay inside the bomb shelters,” she said.

Eight months earlier, a ballistic missile struck a neighboring building occupied by Filipinos.

“A fellow Filipina died there, our neighbor,” said David, recalling the trauma.

On Sunday, the violence claimed another Filipino life. Mary Ann Velasquez de Vera, a 32-year-old caregiver, was killed while escorting her elderly ward to a bomb shelter.

Anita Bautista, a mother of two working in Petah Tikva, said the latest conflict was “more scary” than previous flare-ups during her 12 years in Israel.

“Before, (the missiles) were not hitting the ground, but now some people are getting killed,” she said, adding that alerts had sounded “from morning until dawn.”

Filipinos in Dubai and Bahrain reported being jolted awake by window-rattling explosions and seeing drones streak overhead before detonating.

Coming home

Marcos said 1,416 Filipinos have formally requested repatriation, including 297 in Israel, 586 in Dubai, 270 in Abu Dhabi, 231 in Bahrain, 22 in Jordan, and 10 in Iran.

The main obstacle is transportation. “This is the problem now. No planes are flying. Airports are being hit,” the President said.

“We have heard reports of attacks on different airports around the region. The situation is very fluid. It may be dangerous to fly. Even if we can charter planes, we cannot land because the airports are closed. They are all no-fly zones. This is a combat area,” he added.

Land routes are equally perilous.

“By land, there are options. But that is also dangerous because if there is a friendly fire incident — when there is shooting in an active combat zone — if they see many vehicles, they might bomb them, misidentifying them as hostile movement,” he said.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola said the embassy had shifted to emergency operations, housing staff on-site to ensure uninterrupted services.

“Our difficulty, honestly, is that the airspace is closed, so no airplanes can land or take off here,” she said.

Iran toll includes leader

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said there is no direct threat to the country but it stands ready to assist in a repatriation of Filipinos if ordered.

For many overseas Filipino workers, however, leaving is not easy. “We have families in the Philippines who rely on us,” David said.

The Iranian Red Crescent said Tuesday that more than 780 people have been killed nationwide since the United States and Israel started striking Iran. Among the dead were top government officials of Iran, including its supreme leader.

“According to field reports from operational teams, unfortunately, 787 compatriots have been martyred in these attacks,” the Red Crescent said on its website.