MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has announced that the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Israel is temporarily suspended due to the ongoing violence between Israeli forces and the Hamas militant group.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the safety of Filipinos is the government’s utmost concern at this time.
Most of the OFWs working in the Jewish country are caregivers and hotel workers.
Given the situation, Bello urges the Filipinos bound for Israel to wait until the tension subsides.
“Medyo maghintay-hintay lang po tayo dahil sa hindi magandang kondisyon sa Israel na patutunguhan natin ay meron muna tayong precautionary suspension ng deployment doon,” he said.
The official said quick response teams are on standby to rescue Filipinos who will be caught in the violence.
So far, there are no Filipinos injured or killed in the conflict, Bello confirmed.
However, Bello noted that while the Philippine government is ready should there be calls for repatriation, some OFWs opt to stay despite the dangers.
“Kasi yung mga iba nilipat na sa Egypt. Iyong safer place nilipat sila. libo-libo na yan nasa shelter lahat yan. We are ready to repatriate them merong rapid response team,” he added.
Alert Level 1 is still raised in Israel while Level 2 is raised in the Gaza Strip.
Mandatory repatriation will be triggered when the alert levels are elevated to 3 and 4. –MNP (with reports from Rey Pelayo)
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