Philippine authorities in Israel are looking to repatriate the remains of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Ann Velasquez de Vera this week, a joint House panel on the Middle East conflict learned on Wednesday, March 11.

De Vera, a Filipina caregiver from Pangasinan, is the first and only Filipino fatality in the ongoing hostilities between United States (US)- Israel forces and Iran. She has been hailed as a hero for protecting her patient even as an Iranian missile struck her apartment in Tel Aviv last March 1.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola told the joint panel that securing flights out of Israel have been a huge challenge.

"The airport has very limited flights and these are normally flights flown by Israeli-owned airlines that actually bring in Israelis from out. We are trying to get some seats here because if they fly in, some Israelis, definitely the planes would have to go back out," Mendiola told the congressmen during the briefing, which she joined via videoconferencing.

"So we are working with the Israeli government and trying to get the remains of Mary Ann to be onboard one of those flights as well as the husband," she said.

"We hope that we will be able to do this within this week or even before this weekend and I hope we can get them both back to the Philippines," the envoy added.

The joint briefing was convened by Pangasinan 3rd district Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas, chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Agimat Party-list Rep. Bryan Revilla, chairperson of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs.

The discussions centered on providing updates to the House on the state of the estimated 2.4 million OFWs in the Middle East, and ensuring the readiness of government response mechanisms.

Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of National Defense (DND), and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) attended the briefing. Philippine embassies and posts across the Middle East also joined virtually to provide updates from the ground.

House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos had earlier called for a congressional briefing on the escalating conflict in the Middle East, as he stressed the need to closely monitor the situation and ensure the safety of OFWs in the region.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac reported to the joint panel that the government has already extended 4,600 forms of welfare assistance to OFWs in affected areas. These covered temporary accommodation, food, financial support, medical services, and psychosocial counseling.

“So far, 4,600 ang natulungan natin. It could be the case na ‘yung 4,600 na ‘yan ay one or two or three modes of assistance na nabigay natin. Maaaring nadala natin to temporary accommodation, maaaring na-repatriate natin, maaaring nabigyan ng pagkain,” Cacdac said.

(So far, we have helped 4,600 individuals. It could be the case that those 4,600 received one, two, or even three different forms of assistance. They may have been provided temporary accommodation, they may have been repatriated, or they may have been given food.)

He said authorities have also assisted 885 OFWs through pre-departure and transit support, including those stranded in airports and transit hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Manchester in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ethiopia, as well as some OFWs who had been traveling as tourists and later got stranded abroad.

Cacdac added that 679 OFWs have received repatriation assistance, including 110 who have already returned to the Philippines, while 380 more have signified readiness to be repatriated as the government prepares charter flights and land-border evacuation options amid airspace disruptions in parts of the region.

The DMW chief also told solon that the government was preparing reintegration support for returning OFWs, beginning with employment facilitation, livelihood access, and skills training.