1,147 Filipinos back from Levant, but more choose to stay

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has repatriated a total of 1,147 Filipinos from the Levant since terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah attacked Israel last year, but an estimated 40,000 more, including dual citizens and permanent residents, remain in Israel and Lebanon.

Of these, 858 (including six from the West Bank and two from the Gaza Strip) came from Israel while 289 from Lebanon, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). [Israel, Lebanon along with Gaza Strip, West Bank,  Jordan, Syria, and other areas along the eastern Mediterranean shores are also referred to as the Levant region]

The DFA said the latest batch of repatriates—comprised of 38 caregivers, one hotel worker and one child—arrived on Friday afternoon from Israel.

The Department of Migrant Workers said the overseas Filipino workers voluntarily availed of the government’s repatriation program implemented by the DMW, DFA and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Each of the repatriates will be given P75,000 from the DMW’s assistance-to-nationals fund and other forms of support from the government.

According to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, there are more than 30,000 documented Filipinos in Israel, mostly caretakers, and they chose to stay because no one would take care of their elderly employers in relatively peaceful Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.

Come home for safety

The DFA said there are about 11,000 more documented Filipinos in Lebanon, but 85 percent of them live and work in Beirut, around 100 kilometers from southern Lebanon where hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah are escalating.

Eduardo de Vega, spokesperson for the DFA, said hostilities were limited to the border areas between Israel and Lebanon, and no Filipino has been injured due to the conflict.

However, De Vega renewed the DFA’s appeal for Filipinos in the war zones to avail of the government’s voluntary repatriation program while travel is still relatively free and they still can.

Hostilities in southern Lebanon, in particular, have intensified recently with Hezbollah firing more rockets at northern Israel daily while Jerusalem has unleashed bombing missions against Hezbollah weapons stores. One Hezbollah drone even reached Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah has been considered a terrorist organization since the 1990s, but it remains part of the coalition governing Lebanon and has expressed “solidarity” with Hamas, also considered a terror group. Both groups are backed by Iran.