More Filipinos exiting Israel via Jordan ‘in the coming days’

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

FILE: The Embassy of the Philippines in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan led by Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos and together with Embassy officers successfully received and facilitated the border crossing of 21 Philippine Government Officials who were stranded in Israel in the wake of the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict. (Photo screengrab from Philippine Embassy in Jordan/Facebook)

MANILA – More Filipinos leaving Israel are expected to cross the border to Jordan in the coming days, said the Philippine Embassy in Amman as the crisis intensifies on its seventh day on Thursday.

Based on the latest Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) data, a total of 26 Filipinos are up for repatriation in Israel out of the initial 179 who have requested to leave the Jewish state.

“It is still early to give an estimated number of Filipinos wishing to leave Israel via Jordan but we are prepared to expect volumes of transiting Filipino passengers in the coming days,” Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Wilfredo Santos told the Philippine News Agency.

“These groups of Filipinos are largely overseas Filipino workers but a few are tourists,” he added.

Santos said Filipinos can cross the border as soon as they receive their transit visas being facilitated by the Philippine Embassy in Amman in coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Once they arrive in Jordan, they are required to leave the Hashemite Kingdom within 48 to 72 hours from entry like other nationals.

READ: Gov’t ready to repatriate Filipinos, grant aid amid Israel-Iran war

“The distance of the border between Jordan and Israel is actually near, the only challenge is the long lines and waiting time in the immigration counters in both borders due to the influx of stranded passengers aiming to get in within the limited operating hours of the borders,” Santos said.

The Philippine Embassy in Amman on Wednesday received the first group of Filipinos leaving Israel after the conflict with Iran broke out.

The group, composed of nine Filipino mayors, four vice mayors, two party-list representatives, two regional directors, four Department of Agriculture officials, and one engineer, is expected to leave Jordan on Thursday night.

Israel mounted a military operation against Iran on Friday, targeting nuclear sites and killing the Iranian military’s top brass — strikes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said can last for “many days.”

The unprecedented direct attack resulted in deadly Iranian retaliatory air raids across Israel, including the densely populated capital Tel Aviv.