Gov’t scouring extraction routes

The Department of Foreign Affairs, or DFA, said it is exhausting all avenues in its diplomatic network to get 92 Filipinos seeking repatriation out of the Gaza Strip, which is under siege by Israeli forces hunting the terror group Hamas.

"Many Filipinos are now in southern Gaza awaiting approval to go to the Rafah crossing (to Egypt)," according to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for migrant workers' affairs Eduardo de Vega on Saturday.

The DFA said 23 Filipinos, who had initially planned to stay, now wanted to return to the Philippines, while some have gone to southern Gaza.

De Vega told the Daily Tribune that efforts were also being exerted to locate three Filipinos who had gone missing.

While he expressed high hopes the missing Filipinos would turn up alive, De Vega said the DFA was "soliciting assistance" from all relevant parties for the search.

"Sixty-four Filipinos are now in southern Gaza, and 16 more are still in Gaza City hoping to leave. But the numbers change by the hour," De Vega told this paper.

In a Palace briefing on Friday, De Vega said 92, or over 70 percent of 131 Filipinos in the war zone, have requested repatriation, but since the area is under a blockade by Israeli forces, none have been repatriated yet.

In other parts of Israel, 22 Filipino migrants have sought repatriation. Eight of them, De Vega said, are expected to return to the Philippines on 16 October, with the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration footing the bill for their return.

"In case the DMW lacks the funds for repatriation, the DFA will step in with its own funds," he said.

Some 30,000 Filipinos live and work in Israel, many of them caregivers.

At least three Filipinos have been confirmed dead in the ongoing conflict.

They were caregiver Paul Vincent Castelvi, 42, from Pampanga, and a 33-year-old woman who had been working in Israel for six years. Another caregiver, Loreta "Lorie" Alacre, 49, from Negros Occidental, was the latest reported casualty.

Avoid mass action areas

In Jordan, the Philippine embassy advised Filipinos to avoid areas where demonstrations and rallies were taking place.

In an advisory over the weekend, the embassy advised migrants "to monitor the latest developments through reputable sources and to follow instructions from the local law enforcement authorities."

The Jordanian military enforced heightened security measures on the country's border with Israel.

It said demonstrations were likely to materialize in the major cities of Amman, Aqaba and Maan.

Jordan's security force has been deployed in those areas.

The Jordanian government has banned protests and gatherings near its border with Palestine, including the "Jordan Valley and surrounding areas."

Lade Jean Kabagani @tribunephl_Lade