DMW: 150 OFWs in Israel up for repatriation amid Israel-Iran conflict

At least 150 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel will be repatriated to the Philippines amid ongoing missile strikes between Israel and Iran, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Thursday.

In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac, who is leaving the country to go to Jordan, said the 150 OFWs are expected to be back to the country as soon as possible in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.'s directive.

"I will make a first stop to Beirut to assure the Filipino community of assistance there, then I will proceed to Jordan as directed by the President. Mandatory repatriation is not yet appropriate, but we know that there are OFWs who are willing to come home, who want to come home, that is why we are facilitating their repatriation, and indeed, out of Jordan, we will undertake the repatriation efforts," Cacdac said.

"So far, 150 OFWs want repatriation. I cannot give further details due to security reasons, but rest assured, we will have our first batch coming home [soon] since the Iran-Israel conflict. The situation is quite fluid, so I won't set a timeline, but rest assured, this is being done as soon as possible," he added.

Cacdac said the exchange of airstrikes between Israel and Iran have reached an unusual level, to say the least, but not yet to a point of a need of mandatory repatriation due to the existence of bomb shelters both in private and public properties in Israel.

"Sa tingin ko, ito ay kakaiba. Let me just put it that way. We have never seen itong ganitong palitan ng missile attacks between the two nations. Of course, nagkaroon na ng mga conflict in the last year or months mula noong October 7 Hamas attack on Israel but this would be different level, different scale," Cacdac said.

(This is kind of unusual. We have never seen this level of exchange of missile attacks between the two nations. Of course, there have been conflicts since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but what is going on now is of a different scale.) 

"We also have to consider that they have bomb shelters and they have protocols that are widely disseminated. If the residence of the employers of OFWs does not have a bomb shelter, there are municipal bomb shelters," he added.

In addition, Cacdac said that of the five Filipinos hurt due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, three have already been discharged from the hospital, one is recovering and one is in critical condition.

Based on the report from the Philippine Embassy in Israel as of June 18, there were also 67 Filipinos who lost their homes due to the ongoing armed conflict.

At least 1,333 Filipinos have been repatriated back to the Philippines since the October 7 Hamas attacks, while 74 Filipinos who remain in Israel have also received assistance from the Philippine government.

Israel has launched a preemptive strike against Iran six days ago, supposedly to deter Iran's nuclear program. —AOL, GMA Integrated News