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DMW processing repatriation of 120 more Filipino workers from Israel
SAFE AND SOUND. Eighteen overseas Filipino workers affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Oct. 20, 2023. Fourteen of them are caregivers while the other four are hotel workers. (Photo: Department of Social Welfare and Development/Facebook)
MANILA – A total of 120 Filipino workers who requested the Philippine government for repatriation from Israel are being processed by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a radio interview on Tuesday, DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said they will follow the fourth batch which is expected to leave Israel by Thursday.
“When we say process, tinatawagan ng pangalawa, pangatlong beses at sinisiguro na gusto nilang maka-uwi (we call them twice or thrice to make sure that they really want to go home),” Cacdac said.
He said they also make sure that the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amicably settled with their employers and will not abandon their jobs, which would make it possible for them to return once the situation normalizes.
On Monday afternoon, the third batch of repatriates from Israel, composed of 25 OFWs and an infant, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
To date, Cacdac said there are 137 Filipinos still in Gaza.
As tension between Israel and Lebanon also rises, Cacdac assured that the DMW and the Philippine Embassy in Beirut are coordinating with the Filipino community.
“Rest assured, isinasaayos na rin ito (it is also being arranged) from Lebanon,” he said.
Among the agencies helping in the repatriation are the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Manila International Airport Authority and Bureau of Immigration.
Aside from financial assistance, the OFWs also receive preliminary physical checkup and psychosocial counseling, livelihood and skills training, scholarship for their children, and reintegration assistance, among others.
