Marcos: No need yet for mandatory repatriation amid Israel-Iran conflict

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Wednesday there is no need yet for mandatory repatriation despite the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.

“No, not yet,” Marcos told reporters when asked if mandatory repatriation will already be enforced. 

He said the administration gives it to each family to decide for themselves whether they will go home or not. 

“We generally leave it to each individual, to each family to decide for themselves whether or not they feel safe or whether or not they would like to be evacuated,” Marcos said. 

Still, Marcos assured the public that the government is watching all Filipino citizens in Israel and Iran.

“We of course are watching our nationals both in Israel and in Iran and as a matter of fact, we have already contacted all our nationals and asked them if they want to be evacuated,” Marcos said. 

Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac is already en route to Jordan to oversee the evacuation of affected Filipinos, Marcos said. 

Different routes are being determined to evacuate Filipinos who want to go home as most airports are closed, according to the President. 

As the conflict rages, more than 20 Filipinos on official travel are in Israel, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss has said.

According to Fluss, at least 17 local government officials of the Philippines were in Israel on an official visit, along with a separate team on a study on dairy farming when the strikes had occurred.

The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv said there were 21 Filipino officials in Israel– 17 who attended an agricultural technology training that started on June 10 and was supposed to end on June 20, as well as four dairy industry specialists of the Department of Agriculture.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the stranded delegation is expected to return to the Philippines on Saturday. 

The DMW earlier said that there are at least 20,000 Filipinos in Israel, 13,000 of whom are documented and 6,000 are undocumented. 

The Philippine Embassy in Iran said that there are more than 700 Filipinos residing in the country, with the majority being married to Iranian nationals.

A Reuters report said that Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, last Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. The country does not deny nor confirm that. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News