The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced on Saturday, Oct. 28, that 60 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and two infants are expected to arrive in the Philippines early next week from Israel.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac speaks (center) during a media forum in Quezon City on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
They would form the fourth batch of returning Filipinos from Israel amid the continuing violence that erupted there due to the Oct. 7 ambush of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said during a media forum in Quezon City that the Filipinos would be repatriated courtesy of the emergency repatriation efforts of the DMW, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Philippine Embassy in Tel-Aviv.
Quoting the DMW official, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) added in a Facebook post that the 60 OFWs will be composed of 32 hotel workers and 28 caregivers.
The total repatriated Filipinos from Israel will be 123, including four infants, Cacdac said.
About 65 to 70 more Filipinos are awaiting for their own repatriation, he added, because about 185 Filipinos in Israel have initially requested assistance to be able to come back home.
The DMW official also assured that the Philippine government has enough funds to cover the current repatriation program in Israel, with OWWA providing a P50,000 repatriation assistance package to returning OFWs.
The assistance aims to address their families’ needs and help them transition back to their lives.
There are more than 30,000 OFWs in Israel, most of them caregivers while the rest are hotel workers.
Currently, Alert Level 2, which entails the restrictions on non-essential movement, is raised in Israel after the deadly attack by the Hamas group.
Since the Oct. 7 ambush on Israel that killed 1,400 people, including four Filipinos, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has retaliated with brutal attacks on Gaza City.