An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that there is already a recommendation to lower the crisis alert level from 3 (voluntary repatriation) to 2 (restriction phase) in Israel, although the deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will still hold.

However, DFA Assistant Secretary for Middle East and African Affairs Germinia Aguilar-Usudan said on Thursday, June 26, that there is no similar recommendation for Tehran, which will remain under alert level 3.

“For Israel, there is already a recommendation to lower it to alert level 2. But we still have to get the approval of the secretary,” she said, adding that the recommendation came from Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola-Rau.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega chimed in that lowering the alert level 2 in Israel “could be one of the last things he does, as secretary, so soon” as Manalo will be the incoming Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

The DFA, however, “cannot promise” to lower Israel to alert level 1, although the deployment of OFWs in other Arab countries, except for Lebanon, is continuing.

“The situation is, even if there's a solution, like we see with Iran, there's still a conflict with Hamas, with Gaza. That's why we're calling for a long-standing peace,” he stressed.

“The DFA does not make quick, easy decisions. In the same way that we did not immediately decide to make it mandatory, because we knew there were peace talks or that eventually this situation might improve,” De Vega added.

Usudan disclosed that “negotiation on the labor agreement will pursue” once the situation in Israel normalizes, wherein the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) can come up with an agreement to resume the deployment there.

“And we're hoping with all green areas in Israel, there will be a recommendation to lower this alert level to 2. But still no deployment. After that, maybe the negotiations will resume, and then we will see,” she added.

While the DFA chief has yet to approve the recommendation to lower the alert level in Israel, the country will remain in alert level 3, which meant voluntary repatriation.

De Vega disclosed that there are some 20 Filipinos from Tel Aviv who will be arriving home soon, and they can already take a flight directly from Tel Aviv as there’s no need to cross the Jordan border with the Israeli airspace reopening.

From Iran, there are about eight Filipinos will be arriving in Turkmenistan on Friday, June 27.

But although the truce between Israel and Iran seemed to hold, the DFA official urged Filipinos in both countries to heed government advisories and warnings.

“As for our message to our fellow countrymen, you know that we are here for you. And we hope you will take the advice of the embassy, the government, that if possible, you should go home. Nevertheless, we are helping the embassies, the fellow countrymen in the Middle East,” he said, adding that they are still monitoring the case of the Filipina caregiver in Israel who remains in critical condition because of Iran’s attacks.

Through the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, the government has also provided assistance to over 400 Filipinos in Israel and they are currently monitoring some 100 Filipinos who were displaced because of the attacks.

“So, we're there for you. And continue to contact us if you need anything,” De Vega stressed.

Usudan maintained that the Philippines’ “position is always consistent” in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“That we support the two state solution, which is envisioning an independent Israel, an independent Palestine in one territory, with well defined borders,” she said, adding that “dialogue and understanding” are the best way to move toward a “solution.”

“So, we stick to our position—that we support all efforts for bilateral and also as well as multilateral efforts. To come up with a more solid and consistent and stable peace in the Middle East,” she stressed.

De Vega shared that “Israel knows where we stand” even as it “would have wanted us to be more vocal, to support them on the other hand.”

“So Israel and Palestine know that we are supporting a two-state solution,” he added.

Usudan noted that with 2.1 million Filipinos—30,000 in Israel alone—in the Middle East, peace in the region is “very important to us.”

Israel and militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip of Palestine have been at war since October 2023.

The overall death toll from Israel's war has risen to more than 56,000 killed and 131,848 injuries since that date.